Begin Again
by lostinthefantasy
Summary: Mona's gone, but is the -A game over? Everything is starting up again; who is it this time? Set after 2x25 into season 3. Ezria centered.
1. It Happened That Night

**Chapter One**

Soft knocking filled the room of his apartment.

Ezra looked up from the book in his hand, towards the door. He glanced at his watch as he stood up. 12:30. The only person he could think to be at his door at this time was Aria. He smiled, thinking about the night they had. They had finally gone public. While it was without her parents' approval and not in the way they had planned, it was a great feeling none of the less. He tossed the book onto the coffee table and walked to the door.

The smile immediately disappeared from his face after he opened it though. Standing in front of him was his girlfriend, smudged makeup from the tears streaming down her face, looking even smaller than her normal 5'2 frame due to her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. She was still wearing the dress she had worn to the ball.

"Aria?" He whispered. "What's wrong?"

"She's dead." Aria managed to squeak out. "She's dead."

A sob then broke from her lips.

Ezra's heart broke at the sight of his girlfriend breaking down in front of him. He felt like he was seeing her cry far too often as of late. Confusion swept over him from her statement.

He gently wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Who's dead? What happened, baby?"

Aria wrapped her arms tightly around Ezra's waist, pushing her face into his chest as she continued to cry. Ezra pulled her into the apartment and closed the door, then brought them over to the couch. He sat down and pulled her into his lap.

Ezra brought Aria's face away from his chest to look at her. He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and blew lightly on her face, trying to calm her down. Aria gulped down his air like it was her last few breaths.

Once she calmed down a bit, Ezra tried again.

"Who's dead, Aria?" he said softly.

She took a deep breath. "Maya. Emily's girlfriend."

He processed this for a moment. He remembered Maya from the few weeks she was at Rosewood while he taught there. "What? How did she die?"

Aria shook her head. "We don't know. We were heading over to Hanna's house to spend the night with her after what happened, but we saw the police and everyone surrounding Emily's house. She thought something had happened to her mom, but the police had found a body in her backyard, and they think it's Maya." She looked down, another tear rolling down her face. "Maybe it was Mona who killed her, or maybe this still isn't over." She mumbled to herself.

Ezra blinked a couple of times, confused. "Wait, after what happened? And what does Mona have to do with any of this?"

Aria pulled in a shaky breath, looking up towards the ceiling before continuing.

"Mona was arrested tonight. She's being taken over to a mental institution or something for torturing my friends and me for the past 9 months."

"What? What do you mean torturing you? Why didn't you say anything to me?"

Aria let out a huff and looked at him. "I couldn't tell you! You could have gotten hurt, even more then you already have!"

"I am… incredibly confused. What in the world are you talking about? What has been going on, and why haven't you told me about it?" Ezra begged her to explain more, his voice rising a bit.

"Stop yelling at me!" Aria cried. "I can't think straight! I've barely been able to wrap my head around this myself!"

Ezra took a deep breath and lowered his voice back down.

"I'm sorry. I'm just entirely confused." He whispered, running his fingers over her cheeks.

"I know." Aria sighed. "I'll tell you, I just don't know where to begin."

"The beginning is always a great place." Ezra said, the corner of his mouth lifting a bit.

"Ha. That it is." Aria breathed, smiling back at him. She thought for a minute.

"Okay. Well, for the past 9 months, my friends and I have been getting anonymous texts and messages from someone." She started.

"Your friends, meaning Spencer, Hanna, and Emily?" Ezra clarified.

"Yes. Do you remember early in our relationship when you were still at Rosewood, when I left my phone in your apartment? You had read a text on it saying that whoever sent it knew about our relationship."

"Yeah, we broke up afterwards." Ezra cursed himself momentarily for being so stupid. He couldn't imagine what his life would be like without Aria in it anymore.

"Right. The text was signed by "-A". Do you remember that?" Aria asked, looking at him curiously.

"Mhm. Later at the dance, you told me you didn't know who –A was… that it was someone who was messing with you, but you let it drop afterwards." He recalled this for the first time since the incident. He had never questioned her further on the subject.

"Well, I was telling the truth. –A has basically been controlling my life."

Aria then proceeded to tell Ezra everything about –A, from the very first message she received sitting in his classroom on the first day of school. She also told him everything they had found out about Ali's murder – how it wasn't Ian and about the bell tower, his suicide being set up, and about Garrett and Jenna. She explained how they found out Ali had been stalked by –A before she was killed, about Vivian and Ali's discoveries, about the tapes Caleb was helping them find, and everything –A had been making her and her friends do.

"Tonight, Spencer was with Mona and found out she was –A. Mona was threatening her, saying she needed to 'join the –A team or disappear'. We got to them before Mona could do anything, and while she and Spencer were fighting, she fell off a cliff but survived."

Aria took a deep breath though. "But I can't stop thinking about how she said the '-A team'. That means there's more than one person apart of this, and even though Mona's gone, it might not be over."

More tears leaked down her cheeks.

Ezra, who had been unmoving in shock for the past two hours, finally moved and reached for her.

"Hey…" He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pressing his lips against her forehead. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll keep you safe."

Aria looked up at him and gave him a watery smile.

"I love you for saying that," She whispered. "But if this isn't over… I don't think anyone has the power to stop it."


	2. I Can't Breathe Without You

Chapter Two

**Three months later.**

Ezra stared back at his reflection in the mirror. He smoothed out his dark grey, button down shirt, matched with a dark pair of jeans and black shoes. His hair was in its normal curly mess on top of his head, which he kept trying to smooth out with no success.

It was Labor Day, but the day was most signified to him as his one year anniversary with Aria.

_I can't believe we lasted a year._ He thought to himself. With all the struggles they had been through, they had pulled out together which thrilled him more than anything. She was the light in his life.

Ezra pushed his sleeves up to his elbows, grabbed his keys, and headed out the door.

He was headed over to the Montgomery house, hopefully to grab Aria and spend the day with her. That was, if he could convince her parents to let her go with him, which he seriously doubted.

Recently, it had seemed like Ella was really warming up the idea of the two of them as a couple, but he kept receiving mixed signals, so he didn't know what to believe.

He and Aria hadn't planned to see each other today – he didn't even think she knew he was back in town – but he wanted to surprise her. The couple hadn't seen each other since Maya's funeral two months earlier, except through their regular Skype calls.

He sighed as he put the car into drive, remembering the funeral.

_xxx_

_The cemetery was quiet as the priest gave the traditional speech. Everyone surrounded the casket, which was decorated with red and white roses. Ezra stood near the back; he didn't want to intrude on the final moment for the people who knew and loved Maya as more than a former student. He was really only there for Aria._

_He looked at her standing on the opposite side of the casket in a simple black dress which reached the top of her knees. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. She was gripping Emily's hand tightly in her own, trying to give her as much wordless support as possible. The girl was trying to be strong and not break down, but you could tell she was still very upset by the pain showing clearly in her eyes._

_When the ceremony was over and everyone started to leave, Aria's eyes finally found him, and she smiled slightly as he walked up to her. He could tell by her posture that she desperately wanted to fall into his arms, but hesitated, wondering how he would react with her parents close by._

"_I'm not here to support all my former students this time, Aria." He told her, remembering how at Ian's funeral she told him all she wanted was a hug. While he was there to support her then too, he chickened out from saying so when he had come face to face with Ella and Byron._

_More tears fell from her eyes as she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face in his chest. He rubbed his hands up and down her back and whispered comfortingly in her ear as she gripped his jacket tightly in small fists._

"_Shhh, baby." He murmured. "I've got you."_

_Ezra noticed Ella coming up behind her, and an annoyed looking Byron waiting by the car. _

"_Aria, sweetie?" Ella said softly to her. Aria pulled back a bit and looked at her mother. "Why don't you go with you friends? I think Emily could use your support right now."_

_Aria took a deep breath, nodding her head. "Yeah, I should go." She said, turning back to Ezra. She took in a shaky breath. "Thank you." She whispered to him. She felt the swelling in her chest once again that had been occurring every time he did a public gesture for her._

_He smiled at her. "Of course, sweetheart." He replied. _

_She smiled back and reached up to kiss him gently. "I love you."_

"_I love you, too."_

_He watched as she walked over to Emily, Spencer, and Hanna before he turned back to Ella._

"_I just came to support her." He said quickly to the woman, hoping she wasn't terribly angry with him._

"_I know that." Ella assured him. "Thank you."_

"_I'll always be here for her."_

_Ella looked at him for a moment, thinking to herself. She opened her mouth to say something, before deciding against it and simply nodding and turning around, walking back to her car._

_xxx_

Ezra shook the memory from his mind as he parked in front of the large house. He took a deep breath to ready himself, before he opened the car door, stepped out, and headed for the front door.

xxx

Aria picked up the final plate from the table and brought it over to her mother at the sink.

"Thank you, sweetie." Ella said, taking the dish from her.

"No problem." Aria replied.

"So are you ready to go back to school tomorrow?"

Aria sighed, sitting down on one of the chairs at the dining table. She looked down and starting picking at the nail polish on her fingernails. "I guess."

Ella looked over her shoulder at her. "Well you don't sound very excited."

"I know. I just still can't believe everything that's happened in the course of two years. Mona's in a mental institution, Maya and Ian are dead, and Ali has been gone for two years today."

Ella placed a plate onto the drying rack and shook her head. "You girls have gone through far more than someone you age should have to go through. Anyone even."

"Yeah. There is one good thing that's happened though." Aria paused for a moment. "I met Ezra a year ago from today. It's our anniversary."

Ella turned around and leaned against the counter. "I wasn't aware you two were married." She joked. Ever since the incident with Mona, she had been paying closer attention to Aria, and she couldn't help but notice every time her daughter lit up when talking about Ezra, which was making it a lot harder to hate the man.

She also remembered about a month ago, she had woken up to the sound of Aria screaming from another one of her nightmares. She had gotten up to go comfort her, but when she reached Aria's door, she could hear her talking from the inside. She paused there for a moment, listening, and soon realized Aria had called Ezra. She couldn't hear exactly what he was saying to her daughter, but whatever it was worked, because Aria's cries began to get quieter and she soon fell back asleep.

She hadn't been able to comfort Aria that quickly in any of the times she had been the one to do it.

Aria laughed. "We're not. I meant we've been together for a year."

Ella paused. "Where has he been? I haven't seen him around in a while."

"New York. He's been staying with his parents ever since he lost his job at Hollis." Her face hardened a bit as she said this. She still couldn't believe her father had taken Ezra's job from him.

Before Ella could respond, there was a knock at the front door. "Could you get that, sweetie?"

Aria complied and answered the door. She stood in shock at the man standing on the other side, and a huge grin spread across her face. "Ezra? What are you doing here?"

Ezra smiled at her, relief flooding over him at finally seeing her in person again. The Skype calls had not done her beauty justice. "I didn't want to miss out on the chance to spend our anniversary together."

Aria grinned even larger and her heart swelled at the fact he remembered.

Ella rounded the corner then, having heard the conversation from the kitchen. "Hello, Ezra."

"Hello, Mrs. Montgomery." He cleared his throat and stood up a bit straighter. "Uh… I was wondering if I could take Aria out for the day?" He phrased it as a question, not wanting to overstep any boundaries.

Aria turned to her mother with large, pleading eyes. "Please Mom?" She begged. "Please?"

Ella sighed, looking back and forth between the couple for a few moments, thinking about the conversation she just had with Aria and everything she had noticed for the past three months, before giving in. "Okay."

Ezra was taken back, stunned by her response. He was so sure it would've been a no, or at least have taken a lot of persuading. "Okay?"

Ella nodded. "Okay." She turned towards her daughter who squealed with delight. "But I want you home by curfew, not a second later. Keep your phone on you at all times. Got it?"

Aria nodded, hugging her mother quickly. "Yes, yes! I promise! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." She now turned towards Ezra. "I can count on you to not make me regret this decision, correct?"

Ezra shifted uncomfortably under her intense stare, but said with conviction, "Of course. I'll keep her safe."

"Good. Okay. Remember, curfew."

Aria grabbed her jacket quickly and slipped on her boots. She grabbed Ezra's hand, pulling him towards his car before her mother could change her mind. "I will! Love you!"

"Love you, too."

Ella watched as the couple reached the small car and Ezra opened the passenger side door for Aria. She looked at the happiness clearly shown on her daughter's face. She hadn't seen her happy for quite a lot time now, and she realized that if Aria seeing Ezra was the one thing to get her daughter back to the glowing girl she once was, then she would put her doubts aside and support this as much as she could.

There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind though. Horrible events had a way of finding themselves settled in Aria's life lately, and she worried for when the next one would land.

xxx

"I cannot believe she said yes." Aria spoke softly, still slightly stunned as she sat in the passenger seat of the car.

"Me either." Ezra replied, chuckling.

Aria reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers together. She brought them to lay on her lap. "Why didn't you tell me you were back in town?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

She smiled, leaning her head back against the seat while looking at him.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Ezra laughed, shaking his head. "Another surprise."

Aria pouted. She looked out her window, trying to figure out on her own where they were headed. She didn't have to wonder for long. The car soon pulled up into a very familiar bar.

She grinned at him. "Really?"

"I thought we could recreate our first date." He smiled, pulling up their hands and kissing her fingers lightly.

He got out of the car and walked around, opening her door for her as well. She put her hand back into his as he led her into the building.

"I wouldn't really call it a date. We ended the night in the bathroom."

He looked over at her and grinned mischievously. "Complaining?"

"Absolutely not."

Ezra laughed as they walked over to a booth in the back and sat down.

The pub was lit by candles, and one sat in the middle of their cloth covered table. Aria reached over and grabbed a menu, looking it over while Ezra took the moment to look at her. She was still the beautiful girl he had met a year ago in this very place, but even more so now. She had changed a bit though. She had cut her hair recently, and the brown locks now fell to her shoulders. Her body had matured more too, and she appeared older.

"What are you getting?" Aria asked him, pulling him from his thoughts.

"I have no idea." He said, looking down at his menu for the first time.

Aria laughed, leaning back and smirked. "I figured I'd get a cheeseburger since I didn't get to enjoy it the last time I ordered one here."

He looked back at her, ready to make her squirm. "I don't remember you complaining about your missing cheeseburger when your tongue was down my throat."

Her mouth dropped open slightly and she blushed red. "I believe it was the other way around, Mr. Fitz."

Ezra laughed. "Whatever you need to tell yourself, sweetheart."

Aria locked her jaw, refusing to let him win this one. "It doesn't matter anyway. We both know I was the better kisser."

"Oh really?" He raised his eyebrows, amused by their banter.

"Yup. That's why you can't stop thinking about it."

"I don't believe I was the one who brought it up, Miss Montgomery."

"Are you saying I'm not a good kisser?"

"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying I'm better." He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to argue back. Instead, she stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him up as well.

"And what do you think you're doing?" He asked her as she led him towards the bathrooms.

She turned around when she reached the woman's door, smirking as she pulled him inside. "Jogging your memory a bit."

Ezra smiled, locking the door behind them before pushing her up against the wall. He pressed himself up against her before leaning down towards her.

She sighed as his lips met hers. It was the first time in what felt like forever that they kissed. In fact, she realized the last time was at Maya's funeral, two months ago.

His hands moved from her face, down her waist to her hips. He gripped her tightly before lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he brought her over to the sink and set her down on the cool marble. He smiled against her lips before pulling away slightly.

"This what you were looking for, sweetheart?"

She grinned, nodding her head and pulling him back to her. Her hands ran through his hair as they continued. His fingers soon began to dance along the hem of her new tank top, before slowing creeping underneath and sliding along her waist.

Her own fingers found their own journey, and soon started at the buttons at the top of his shirt. He moaned softly.

"I've missed you."

Aria slowly opened her eyes. "I've missed you, too. So much."

She moved to draw him back in again, but the chiming of her phone snapped them both out of it. Aria's heart began to race, and her eyes grew in panic as they did every time her phone went off. She reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone slowly, before letting out a breath of air she didn't realize she had been holding.

"_Hey, do you want_

_to grab a coffee later?"_

_~Spencer_

She quickly typed a response, denying the offer and giving a quick description as to why. As she slipped her phone away again, she looked up at the reason for her decline who hadn't missed a beat of what just happened.

"Everything okay?" Ezra asked slowly.

"Yeah of course." Aria replied. "Wanna get out of here?" She asked, trying to direct his attention away from the small episode she just had.

He sighed, letting her get away with it for now. He hadn't asked her about –A since the night she had come and told him everything. He hoped that she would tell him if the threats started up again, and since she hadn't, he suspected that everything was fine.

"Sure."

He lifted her down from the counter, before they both walked out of the bar like they had exactly a year ago, but this time, they left together. They both slid into his car once again.

"Where would you like to go?" He asked her, starting up the engine.

"Your apartment?"

"Can't. I've still got about a week before I can get into it again." He had shut down the electricity and water lines when he left for New York, not wanting to pay for them when he wasn't there to use it.

"Then where are you staying?"

"I got a hotel room until then." He looked over at her.

She perked up a bit. "A hotel room?" She smiled at him again, trying to bring the playfulness back into their conversation. "Mind if I check it out?"

He smiled at her, shaking his head as he put the car into drive.

xxx

Aria rolled over, tangled up in the sheets an hour later. She had managed to seduce Ezra into bed with her when they arrived at the apartment, although it wasn't very difficult.

She rested her chin on his bare chest, looking up at him. "I've missed this. You. A lot." She whispered.

"I know, baby." He stroked her cheek gently. "Me too."

"You're not going to have to leave again, right?"

"No. The school two towns over accepted my job application a week ago. It's only twenty minutes away, so I can stay in Rosewood."

Aria smiled. "Good."

He stared at her for a moment. "So how has everything been?"

She sighed. "Fine."

"Just fine?"

"Ezra, nothing is wrong, I promise." She begged him with her eyes to just drop it. She didn't like talking about what happened before. She was still worried it was going to happen again. He didn't though.

"You jumped out of your skin earlier when your phone rang."

"I just wasn't expecting it."

"So you're not getting any of those texts again?" He challenged.

Aria rolled her eyes and moved away from him in the bed. "No. I told you, everything's fine. I'm just still getting used to it. That's all."

Ezra sighed. "Okay. I was just checking. I'm sorry." He opened up his arms for her to come back, which she did. "You'd tell me if they did start up again…right?"

Aria took a deep breath, and said one of the only lies she had ever said to Ezra. "Of course."

**Author's Notes: Okay! Chapter two! So far, the story has just been a bit of a build up. The drama's starting up in the next chapter. ;)  
****Thank you to everyone who has been so kind to me already. Yes, this is my first story, so feedback will really help. I hope you guys are liking it so far!  
Kisses! -A (Yes, my initial is actually an A) **


	3. Turn Our Eyes Away

**Chapter 3**

School came far too quickly for Aria. It was only the first day, and she was already missing sleeping in and being away from all the whispers that followed her throughout the building. It seemed like whenever she looked up, she would catch someone staring or whispering about her. She figured she shouldn't have expected it to change over the break though. The police hadn't gone into much detail about Mona, or about Maya's death, so everyone was making their own assumptions about what they heard from the news, and she was still one of the four girls that was mysteriously involved in all of it.

When the bell finally rang, announcing the end of the day, Aria grabbed her things from her locker and headed out of the building. She met up with the girls outside in the courtyard.

"Hey." Spencer greeted her. They had seen each other a lot during the day, as they had lucked out in getting most of their classes together. In fact, they all had classes with at least one of the other girls in it as well, and Aria wondered if it actually wasn't luck that caused that. She wasn't complaining though.

"Hey yourself." Aria responded. She looked over at Emily who seemed distracted. "You okay, Em?"

"Yeah. But being here without her... it was just another reminder that she's gone."

None of the girls had to ask who she was talking about. While Emily had been doing better over the summer, she still wasn't her complete self.

But then again, none of them really were.

"So do you guys want to go out tonight?" Aria asked, changing the subject.

"I can't. I have to go help my mom and Melissa make last minute decisions before the baby comes." Spencer said glumly. Melissa was due any day now, and her sister was less than excited about it.

"Me either. Caleb and I have plans." Hanna said.

Spencer snorted. "Plans to destroy another couch?"

"Look, I said I was sorry. I still can't believe you're not over that."

"It was my Nana's!"

"So? It's not like she's going to be using it anytime soon."

"Alright children, lets quiet down now." Emily said, rolling her eyes, but the smile on her face gave her away. "I'm busy too, Aria. My mom wants me to go over and spend time with her. Sorry."

Aria frowned, but nodded. "No, it's okay. I'll just see you guys tomorrow."

"See you." All the girls said, heading towards their cars.

Aria got into her own car, and sat in the seat for a moment, unmoving. She didn't want to go home yet. She had been avoiding her father lately, and didn't want to be confronted about it yet.

A glance at the clock on her dashboard showed that she didn't have to. Ezra should be getting back from his first day at work soon, so she decided to go visit him and see how his day went. She started up the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

About half way over to the hotel, her phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, baby."_ Ezra's voice came over the line.

Aria smiled at the nickname he had been calling her lately. "Hey. I was just coming by the hotel to see you."

"_Oh, well it's a good thing I called then. My tenant called me this morning and said that he turned the electricity and water back on in the apartment early since he heard I was back in town. I'm heading over there now."_

"Oh, sweet. I'll meet you there in ten."

"_Sounds good. Love you."_

"Love you too."

The line disconnected, and Aria changed her course towards Ezra's apartment. Ten minutes later, she pulled up in front of the building and made her way up the stairs to the familiar door of 3B. She knocked, and the door almost immediately opened.

Ezra smiled down at his girlfriend. "Hey."

"Hey." Aria said, reaching up for a kiss.

They parted shortly afterwards, and Aria walked further into the apartment. She planted herself on the couch and noticed that Ezra had already started to unpack his bags. She smiled. He really was staying.

Ezra shut the door and made his way over to sit next to her.

"So how was your first day teaching at Kellington High School?" Aria asked him.

"Not bad actually. All the teachers there are really great, and they welcomed me very nicely. Plus, it was kind of nice to teach a high school class and not worry about my girlfriend being in it." He winked at her. "How was your first day back?"

Aria grimaced, looking down. "It was fine."

Ezra noticed how she tensed and was immediately concerned. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I told you, it was fine."

"It doesn't seem like it was fine."

Aria sighed, not answering him. She didn't want him worrying about her. The whispers and stares were not new, and she was almost used to them by now.

Ezra, however, was trying to figure out what it was. She seemed more glum rather than frightened, so he didn't think she had received any messages from –A. Plus, she said she would tell him if something like that started up again.

He huffed, not getting anywhere.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"Ezra, it really isn't that big of a deal." Aria rolled her eyes. "Just the normal stares and whispers that I got last year, it's nothing new. I'm used to it."

"If it's not a big deal, then why is it bothering you?"

Aria looked down. "I guess I just thought people would have gotten over it by now. They all know Mona probably killed Ali, so why do they still need to bug me about it?"

Ezra shoulders slumped and sadness washed over him. He hated that Aria had to deal with everyone's criticisms when she had done nothing to deserve them.

"Come here." He reached out, pulling her into his arms and laying backwards on the couch. She snuggled into his chest, closing her eyes.

It was quiet for a moment before she spoke up again.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Ezra looked down at her, confused. "For what?"

"For loving me, despite all the rumors that are constantly flying around."

He tightened his grip around her waist and pressed his lips against her head. "I'll always love you."

xxx

Sometime later, a shrill sound pulled Ezra out of his slumber. He opened his eyes and stretched, finding Aria still lying across his chest. Her deep breathing told him she was asleep.

Ezra looked next to him, seeing that the ringing was coming from Aria's phone on the coffee table. He picked it up, looking at the caller ID. It was Ella. He glanced at his watch, realizing it was going on six o'clock.

"Hello?" He whispered, not wanting to wake Aria.

"Ezra?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh, hi. I take it Aria's with you then."

"Yeah she is. Sorry, she came to see me after school and I guess we ended up falling asleep." He explained to her. The last thing he wanted was to get back on Ella's bad side again.

"No, it's okay. I just wanted to know where she was. Can you send her home shortly though? Dinner's starting soon, and I haven't really explained to Byron that you two are together again yet."

"Of course." Ezra understood completely. He was nervous himself about Byron finding out again, but he knew they couldn't keep it from him forever.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Bye, Ezra." Ella said, hanging up the phone.

Ezra looked down at the sleeping beauty resting in his arms. He brushed her hair back from her face and gently kissed her forehead. His kisses moved down the side of her face and across her cheek to the corner of her mouth.

Aria stirred, slowly waking up and opening her eyes. She looked up at him and smiled. He leaned in and kissed her slowly, brushing his tongue over her bottom lip and asking for entrance. She parted her lips for him, and sighed as his tongue met hers. She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, planning to deepen the kiss, but he pulled away from her.

She looked at him, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, baby. Your mom just called and said she wanted you to go home for dinner." He assured her, giving her another quick kiss.

"How long were we asleep for?" She asked.

"It's going on six now."

Aria groaned and stretched out her muscles before getting up. Ezra stood too, and watched as she grabbed her phone and her bag by the door before looking up at him.

"I don't want to go." She pouted.

He laughed, walking up to her and wrapping her in his arms again. "I know. I wish you could stay, too."

She pushed her face into his chest, breathing deeply.

"I'm sorry about earlier." He whispered into her hair.

She sighed. "Don't be. I know you're just worried about me. I'm sorry I'm being so stubborn."

Ezra smiled, pulling her face back to look at her. "Your stubbornness is one of the main reasons I love you."

Aria bit her lip, reaching up to give him another kiss. "I love you, too."

"I'll call you later."

As Aria got into her car and starting driving home, her phone began ringing. She took it out of the cup holder in the center compartment and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Aria." Spencer's voice came through, sounding distressed.

"Spence? What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"Melissa's having her baby."

xxx

Aria sat in the waiting room of the hospital a few hours later with the other four girls and their parents. She had called hers after the call from Spencer, and they had come and met her at the hospital after dropping Mike off at a friend's house.

The four girls sat by themselves away from their parents and were talking quietly.

"How much do you think it looks like Ian?" Emily asked.

"Hopefully not a lot." Spencer moaned, putting her head in her hands. Aria rubbed her hand along her back, trying to comfort her.

Hanna groaned, throwing her head back against the chair. "Oh my God. How long does it take to have a baby? We've been sitting here forever."

"Han, this isn't exactly a process that can be rushed." Aria said, shaking her head at her friend.

Coincidentally, Spencer's mother came through the doors at that exact moment with a smile on her face.

"Well, Taylor has been born."

All the parents gushed about the news, and followed Mrs. Hastings back through the doors. The girls all stood up slowly, and reluctantly followed as well.

xxx

Later, after seeing the baby, the girls sat back in the seats in the waiting room.

"I hate to say it, but she was kind of cute." Emily said.

"Surprisingly." Spencer muttered.

The front doors to the hospital opened, and all of them looked up. They gasped as they saw who was walking in.

"Jenna? What is she doing here?" Hanna asked.

"Well, from what we saw on the videos, Melissa and her aren't exactly strangers."

Jenna talked to the woman at the front desk for a moment, before walking towards Melissa's room.

The doors opened once again, and in walked Jason and Garrett. Both of them also started down the hall.

"What the hell?" Hanna exclaimed. "Since when has Garrett been out of jail?"

"Let's get out of here." Spencer said, jumping up and heading out the front doors with the rest of the girls behind her.

xxx

The girls all went back to Spencer's house. They sat at her kitchen counter with mugs of hot chocolate in their hands.

"Can I just say what we've all been thinking, but none of us want to say out loud?" Emily asked, finally breaking the silence that had been haunting the room. The rest of the girls looked at her, not saying anything.

"I just… I still don't understand everything. We've been thinking that whoever –A is must have killed Alison. But if Mona was –A… what do those videos we got off of their phone mean? What do the rest of them have to do with any of this? What were Ian, Garrett, Jenna, _and_ Melissa doing at Ali's house the day she died?"

None of the girls knew what to say. None of them had any of the answers to the questions.

Suddenly, Spencer's laptop beeped, signaling a new email. She grabbed it and opened up the email tab, looking at the screen. Her expression became shocked, and she looked around at the four girls.

"There's an attachment of a video. It… it was sent from a blocked account."

Their eyes widened, and the other three girls gathered around to view the screen. Spencer took a deep breath before hitting play.

The screen showed a dark street, with buildings lining either side. The camera focused, before moving the view towards the window of a small shop.

The girls all gasped. Inside the window, they could see Ali in her red jacket and dark hair, having a discussion with the dorky, glasses-wearing Mona. Then the screen went black.

"Oh my God." Spencer whispered. "Ali wasn't watching Mona that night. She was watching someone else. And they were watching her, too."

Then, to their horror, the all too familiar sound of each of their cell phones alerting them of a new text filled the room.

They all exchanged frighten looks of disbelieve before pulling out their phones and opening the messages.

"No." Emily whispered.

"_You think it's over? _

_The game is only just beginning bitches._

_Buckle up. –A"._


	4. A Beautiful Mess

**Chapter Four**

The next day, Rosewood was relatively quiet. It was being washed out by rain; the first downfall of the new season. Aria watching as it hit the window of her last period class with her head on the desk. When the last bell finally rang, she jumped out of her seat and made her way to her mother's classroom.

When she reached it, she poke her head in to see Ella erasing the chalk from the blackboard. She went to sit in one of the desks and rested her head on her arm again.

Ella, having heard her come in, turned around to look at her.

"Hey."

"Hey." Aria echoed.

Ella looked at her daughter, before moving to sit in the desk in front of hers. "You okay?"

Aria nodded her head. "Just tired."

She closed her eyes as Ella ran her fingers through her shortened, hazel locks.

"Why don't you go home and rest?"

Aria sighed and sat up. "Actually I was wondering if I could go hang out with the girls today."

"Of course you can." Ella looked at her skeptically before adding, "You know, if you're going to see him, you don't need to lie about it anymore."

Shaking her head, Aria smiled and replied, "Good to know. But no, I'm seriously going to go hang out the girls. Spencer doesn't want to go home and deal with the screaming newborn."

Ella laughed. "Totally understandable." Then she remembered. "That reminds me of something. Where did you girls go last night? We went out to the waiting room and all of you were gone."

Aria looked down. "We just got kind of spooked. Did you see Garrett?"

Ella sighed. "Yes, I did. Veronica told me last night that he was being put out on parole. He said that Mona made him steal the page from the autopsy. His title as a police officer has been stripped for not turning it in though."

"Oh." Aria replied, nodding her head. "For a while, I actually thought he was the one who killed Ali."

Ella looked at her closely. "If you girls feel like Garrett is a threat to you, let us know. We can take care of it."

"No, no. I understand, a little bit. Mona was… very convincing."

Her mother reached out to her. "You know, your father and I have been talking. Maybe you girls should think about seeing Dr. Sullivan again. No one would look down on you for it; you went through a very difficult situation."

Aria quickly shook her head. "No. That's not necessary."

"Are you sure you don't want to think –"

"Yup. I'm sure."

Ella sighed. "Okay."

Knocking pulled them from their conversation, and the both looked up to see Spencer at the door.

"Hey, you ready?" She asked.

"Yeah." Aria stood. "I'll see you later, mom."

"Bye, sweetie." Ella said, watching her daughter leave the classroom and dropping her head in her hand.

xxx

The girls walked along the streets of Rosewood through the pouring rain, Aria and Spencer huddled under one umbrella, Hanna and Emily the other. Not a lot of people were out due to the weather, so it was relatively quiet besides the sound of the droplets hitting the pavement.

They made their way over to a couple of benches that were covered by the roof of a building blocking the rain. Sitting down, they all looked at each other, thinking.

"What are we going to do?" Emily asked after a few minutes.

"The only thing we really can do. What we've been doing for the last year. Deal with it, and try to figure out who's screwing with us." Spencer said.

"When we do find out whoever it is, there's going to be hell to pay." Hanna glared at the road, lost in her thoughts.

Aria took a deep breath. "So where are we going to start? Almost everything we had before is irrelevant now; it was all Mona's doings."

"I don't know." Spencer whispered. She rested her head in her hand. "I guess we can continue to go through Ali's things, dig deeper into everything we already have, and maybe –A will finally screw up enough for us to catch them."

"How do we know –A is only one person?" Emily asked.

"We don't." Hanna huffed.

"The one thing we need to remember right now is that no one should be trusted. I think we learned that much with Mona." Spencer said, looking sympathetically at Hanna, who hung her head. Aria reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

"I trust Caleb though." Hanna whispered. "I mean, he's been helping us this whole time. He can't be a part of the –A team."

"We don't know that." Spencer muttered.

Hanna's head shot up and she glared at her. "What, are you saying you don't trust Toby? That you think he could do this to you?"

Hurt crossed Spencer's face at the thought. "I do trust him. I'm just scared." She murmured, looking down. "You thought Mona was one of your best friends, and it was so easy for her to torture you like this." She shook her head. "I don't know what I'd do if I found out Toby was part of this."

Aria's heart broke for her friends. She believed quite strongly that Ezra could never be part of –A. She knew how much he loved her. He had put his life and his future on the line to be save their relationship. There wasn't a single ounce of her that believed he was capable of doing something like this to her.

"Okay, I don't think we need to torture ourselves that much." Emily said softly. "If you feel someone has earned your trust, completely, then you should trust them. So I think our families, Caleb, Toby, and Ezra are safe."

"I'm still not sure about Melissa." Hanna muttered.

"Hanna." Emily scolded.

"No, she's right." Spencer nodded. "We saw Melissa in that video, and she's been acting too strange lately. We can't rule her out."

Aria wrapped her arm around her friend, resting her head on her shoulder.

"What are we doing first?" Emily asked.

Spencer sighed. "No one has gotten any messages since last night, right?"

All the girls shook their heads.

"Then let's just wait. We don't have anything to go off of right now. Just keep your eye on everyone that we've been suspecting, and when we get the next message… we'll figure it out."

The girls all sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that easy.

xxx

**Three Days Later**

xxx

Aria stretched out, turning to the next page of the book she was reading. She was lying on the bed in Ezra's apartment, waiting for him to come home from the meeting he had after school.

It was Friday afternoon, and the first week back at school was over. Rainclouds still continued to cover the small town and were refusing to let up. To Aria, it seemed like a good indication that the calm before the storm was over. While she hadn't gotten any messages from –A since the night Melissa's baby was born, she knew –A wasn't the type to mess around. All she could do was wait until whoever it was would strike again.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Ezra leaning over her, water droplets falling from his face onto hers.

Aria dropped the book next to her and laughed, running her fingers though his wet locks.

"Looks like someone forgot an umbrella today."

Ezra hummed and leaned down to kiss her. Aria squealed as his wet body pressed up against hers and pushed him away.

"You're soaked!" She exclaimed, giggling.

"Well yeah, rain tends to do that to you." He mocked her.

He went to lean in for another kiss but she pushed him away. "Go change first." She laughed.

He pouted. "But I missed you."

Ezra began to tickle her sides and pepper kiss her face while she laughed, before she finally gave in and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.

He moaned as her lips parted against his and pushed his tongue into her mouth. She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer to her.

As their kisses became more passionate, she pushed his jacket down off his shoulders, and he felt her hands travel down to the hem of his tee-shirt. He pulled back a bit so she could slide it over his head, before his lips crashed against hers again.

His hands moved down to her own shirt, beginning to lift it up. They were interrupted by a beeping from the kitchen, causing them both to snap out of the trance they had been in.

Aria groaned, throwing her head back. "I forgot I was making you dinner."

"Aw, thanks baby." Smiling, he leaned down to peck her lips again.

She giggled before pushing him away and sitting up.

She looked down at her clothes, shaking her head. "Thank you for making me almost as wet as you are."

"Don't act like you didn't love that." He smirked at her.

She grabbed a pillow next to her and wacked him with it, causing him to laugh loudly.

"You're an incredibly cocky man, you know that right?" She asked him.

"What can I say; you bring out the best in me."

"Ass." She muttered, before standing up and making her way to the kitchen.

He laughed again, standing up and grabbing a new set of clothing. He tossed one of his shirts to Aria, before walking into the bathroom to change.

Aria took off her wet shirt and pulled on his, before taking the lasagna she prepared out of the oven. She made two plates of it before walking over to the couch, where Ezra joined her shortly after. She leaned against his shoulder as they ate.

"So how'd your first week go?" She asked.

"Pretty good. Most of the students are very involved. I think it's going to be a good year. What about you?"

"Well, I've already been assigned four essays, and my social studies teacher, Mr. Volardi, already hates me." She sighed.

"Why does he hate you?"

"He has terrible grammar skills, and I corrected him on his wording in one of the handouts he gave us. He was so pissed, I was sure he was going to give me a detention."

Ezra laughed, shaking his head. "Anything else happen?"

"Spencer's sister had her baby." Aria whispered.

"She did? Wow. How's she doing?"

Aria took another bite of her food. "Okay. She's really excited that Taylor's finally here, but Spencer says that she gets really sad sometimes. Probably because of Ian."

Ezra pressed his lips to her forehead. "It must be really tough, losing the father to your child."

She nodded. "Especially after finding out he was also completely psychotic."

One look at Aria's face told Ezra it was time to drop the conversation. He quickly changed the subject.

"Are you staying over tonight?" He asked hopefully.

She smiled up at him. "I think I can arrange that."

As Ezra went to put their dishes in the sink, she pulled out her phone and shot a quick text to Spencer.

"_Hey, can you be my_

_alibi tonight?_

_~Aria"_

While her mother was becoming more accepting of their relationship, Aria doubted she would be okay with her sleeping over at Ezra's.

He came back over and wrapped his arms around her. Her phone buzzed with her response shortly after.

"_Sure thing. Have fun with_

_Fitzy tonight, and tell him _

_I said "you're welcome". ;)_

_~Spencer"_

Ezra snorted and shook his head, having read the message over her shoulder. His lips tugged up at the corners though. Aria quickly dialed her mom's cell, before placing the phone to her ear.

"Hey sweetie." Her mom answered.

"Hi mom." She replied. "Is it okay if I sleepover at Spencer's house tonight? We've got those essays that we want to work on together."

"Of course, as long as her mother's okay with it."

"Yeah, she said it was fine."

"Okay, well get some fun in while writing those essays." Her mother said.

Aria smirked, shaking her head. "I'll try."

"See you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you too, mom." She hung up the phone and looked up at her boyfriend.

"Done." She smiled.

"Mm, good." He replied, bringing his lips down to hers again.

When they pulled away, he asked her, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure."

They decided on _To Kill a Mockingbird_, even though both of them had seen the movie and read the book plenty of times.

Aria woke up some time later to the credits rolling across the screen, and realized they must have fallen asleep in the midst of watching it. She sat up, yawning. Her stirring awoke Ezra, who stretched slightly.

"We missed the movie. Again." She smiled. Whenever they tried to watch a movie, it seemed it always ended with them engaged in a heavy make out session or passed out on the couch.

Ezra laughed, watching as she stretched her arms over her head. His tee-shirt that she was wearing rose up with her arms, exposing the lower part of her waist.

He sat up, pressing his lips to the side of her neck. She sighed as he began to suck gently on her skin. She moved her head to kiss him softly, before standing up. She pulled him up with her, pressing her lips to his again, before pulling him back over to the bed to finish what they started earlier.

xxx

The sound of thunder woke Aria up the next morning. Her eyes opened slowly, and she looked out the window to see that it was still raining in Rosewood.

She turned her head to see Ezra sleeping soundly next to her, his arm draped over her waist. She reached up and pushed his hair back from his forehead.

He hummed, nuzzling the side of his face into the pillows, before stilling again. She smiled slightly at him, before reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing her phone.

She tapped the screen intending to see what time it was, but instead she was met with a new text message. As she opened it, the smile slipped from her face and her stomach rolled uneasily; the sense of peace she felt a few moments ago, gone.

"_Some things don't change. _

_I wonder what daddy would _

_say if he found out whose bed_

_you were REALLY spending the_

_night in._

_-A."_

Aria took in a shaky breath, before locked her phone, tossing it on the bed besides her. She looked out the window at the clouds rolling in the sky, as a tear rolled down her cheek.

**Author's Notes: I just want to thank all of you so much. You guys are so sweet, and I love the feedback you've been giving me. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**


	5. You Know The Way

**Chapter Five**

Ezra sighed, keeping his eyes closed as he awoke to the new morning. The sound of water hitting the windows told him it was still rainy in Rosewood. He tightened his arms around his girlfriend, and a small smile touched his lips. It was Saturday; their lazy day. They had spent the first day of the weekend together ever since she came over to his apartment for the first time.

The sound of Aria pulling in a shaky breath made him open his eyes. He found hers, staring back at him, slightly red and puffy. Her cheeks shined with freshly shed tears.

He became worried quickly.

"Hey," He whispered, pulling her closer to him. "What's wrong?"

Aria looked at him before closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I need to tell you something."

Ezra wiped the tears from her face. "Anything."

Her eyes opened again, and she brought her hands up to her head, hiding behind them.

Part of Aria told her to lie to him. To make something up, and not tell him about –A. How could she tell him? Now that whoever it is was back, telling him would put him in danger. He already knew too much. But the other part knew she had to tell him. She promised that she would, and whether she had been sincere about it or not, if he found out she hadn't told him on his own, it could bring more problems into their relationship.

"Aria." Ezra whispered, kissing the hands covering her face.

She slowly removed them, and her eyes met his. "I'm getting messages from –A again." She told him weakly.

It was quiet for a few minutes before he spoke.

"When did it start?"

Aria sighed. "The day school started. Just like last year."

Ezra shook his head in disbelief. Three months had passed, and she hadn't gotten any messages. He figured it had probably just been Mona, and that it would be over.

"How many have you gotten?" He asked.

"Two. One after Melissa's baby was born and the other this morning."

"What did they say?"

"The first one was just saying how it wasn't over. How whoever is –A is still here." She paused, looking down at her fingers twined together with his. "The one from this morning was asking what my dad would think if he found out I was in bed with you right now."

Ezra let out a deep breath, before moving to lie on his back. He looked up at the ceiling, thinking.

Aria looked over at him. She could tell he was lost in his thoughts. A small amount of worry passed over her about what he was going to say. Was he mad? He didn't look like he was, and he hadn't said anything harsh yet, so she ruled that one out. She was about panic, worrying about the outcome, before he finally spoke.

"Aria, you need to tell someone about this." He turned to look at her.

She shook her head. "I can't."

"Yes you can. If you tell the police, they can figure out who is sending these messages to you. They can stop it."

"It isn't that simple!" Aria shook her head, sitting up. "You don't have any idea what you're saying."

"Then fill me in on what I'm missing."

She looked at him in disbelief. "It will take the police a while to figure it out, and the fact that the messages are starting up again proves that there's more than one person doing this, so it's not going to be that easy. And what about what the police will find while their figuring it out? That we've lied countless amounts of times to them, that we've broken into places and stolen things just to solve this stupid thing? What about blinding Jenna? Apparently the surgery didn't work out, so now we have _permanently _blinded her. And we all have our secrets that could get us into a lot of trouble if the truth came out. I mean, just look at us. We had a student/teacher relationship and –A knows about it. You could still go to jail!"

Aria took a deep breath after her rant. More tears had fallen down her cheeks, and she hiccupped quietly from the crying. Ezra sat up, wrapping his arms around her again. He pressed his lips to her temple, gently shushing her cries.

"You can't say anything, Ezra. To anyone." She told him after she regained control of herself again.

"Okay. I won't." He assured her.

"I mean it."

"So do I. I won't do or say anything until you tell me it's okay to do so."

She leaned back, tilting her head to look up at him. Her hand reached up to touch his cheek. "I don't wanna lose you." She whispered.

"You won't." He leaned down and kissed her gently. "I promise."

They stayed like that for a while; locked in each other's arms on the bed, sharing soft kisses every now and then.

"What are you going to do?" He asked her.

She sighed, closing her eyes. "The girls and I have been looking closer into Ali's death for a while now. We stopped once they caught Mona, but we were getting closer. She left a lot of things behind; clues. The only problem is that Ali was really good at hiding things.

Garrett's out of jail now; he's on bail and he's no longer a cop. He's obviously involved in the whole thing somehow since he gave Jenna the autopsy paper. We're still not sure about her either. We also think Melissa might be part of it. She says that she knows what really happened to Jenna, and she admitted to sending threatening texts to Ali before she went missing."

Ezra sighed, resting his chin on top of her head. "You're making me really worried."

"Why?"

Ezra gave her a _really?_ look. She smiled slightly.

"Sorry. Stupid question."

"I'm going to be worrying about you whenever I'm not with you now."

Aria frowned. "Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself. You're the one thing that if –A touches will hurt me the most, and they know that. Keep yourself safe."

"I'll be fine."

She shook her head. "I know you're only going off of what I've told you and you haven't experienced it yourself, but _please_ try to grasp how dangerous this really is."

He looked down at her. "I promise I'll be safe."

"Thank you."

Aria's phone rang then. She grabbed it, pressing the tiny green button.

"Hello?"

"Hi sweetie. How was the sleepover?"

Aria looked up at Ezra, smiling. "Hi mom. The sleepover was great, actually. Lots of fun."

Ezra grinned, shaking his head.

"That's good." Ella said. "Look, I know you've been doing your best to avoid him lately, but your father wants to have lunch today, just the three of us."

Aria frowned. "Just the three of us? Where?"

"At home."

She rolled her eyes. "Great. Guess I know what the conversation is going to consist off."

Ella sighed. "Humor me. Please? You know I don't like lying to your father."

"Ugh, fine. I'll be there."

"Thank you."

"Love you, mom." She disconnected the phone. "Gr-eat."

Ezra laughed. "You made lovely plans, I see."

She sneered up at him. "I'm having lunch alone with my parents at home." She looked over at the alarm clock. "In an hour."

Ezra laughed again at her.

"Yeah, keep laughing buddy. You're probably going to the main topic of conversation anyways."

That shut him up affectively, making way for Aria's turn to laugh. "I'll let you know how it goes."

"Please do."

She rolled her eyes, before moving to sit at the edge of the bed. She reached down and grabbed Ezra's tee-shirt, slipping it over her head.

"I believe that would be mine." He said from his spot on the bed as she stood up.

"Oh my, we have a genius in the house. Oops. Apartment." She smirked as she walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower. The last thing she wanted was to go home smelling like sweat and sex.

"Quite the comedian, you are." He called.

She laughed. "I've been learning from the best!"

"Damn straight." Was his only response.

After her shower, Aria changed into the spare clothing she kept in her bag. She put on a pair of ripped jeans, along with a gray, lacy shirt. She pulled on her gray boots, and applied her daily makeup to her face and blow-dried her hair.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she found Ezra sitting on the couch, reading a new book. He looked up at her as she came out and smiled.

"Beautiful as ever." He told her.

A pinkish blush spread across her cheeks, causing him to chuckle slightly.

She walked over to the door and picked up her bag that she had dropped there. As she pulled it onto her shoulder, she turned around to find that Ezra had come up behind her.

He pushed her back against the door, before cupping her face gently in his hands and leaning his forehead against hers.

"Good luck with lunch." He told her, grinning slightly.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Why thank you."

He laughed for a moment, before his face became serious.

"Please," He whispered. "Be safe."

She nodded. "I promise."

"Call me if you need anything."

"I will."

He leaned down, capturing her lips with his. They kissed softly for a few moments, savoring each other's details to their memories for the time they would spend apart.

"I love you." He said meaningfully, kissing her one more time.

She smiled. "I love you, too."

As Aria walked down the stairs from his apartment and into the small lobby, her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She opened the text.

"_Better make sure that_

_boyfriend of yours keeps his_

_mouth closed. As soon you _

_you spill, so do I._

_-A."_

Attached to the message was a picture of her and Ezra, back from when he taught at Rosewood, talking in his classroom. She was sitting on top of his desk, and his hands were resting on her waist. The two had their heads pressed together, not kissing, but close enough.

She took a deep breath, returned the phone to her pocket, before shoving the front door of the building open forcefully.

xxx

The three Montgomery's sat at the dining table in silence. Aria and Ella were eating slowly, but Byron had yet to touch his plate. He stared at his daughter, and she shifted uncomfortably under his close examination. She looked towards her mother for information on what was going on, but Ella seemed as confused as she was.

After a few more moments of quiet, Ella finally spoke up. "Is there something on your mind Byron?"

He shook his head quickly, as if being pulled away from his thoughts, before he sat back in his chair.

"I don't know, despite someone asking me today about what I thought of Aria's boyfriend, no not much."

Aria dropped her fork onto her plate and sat back. She looked down and picked at her nail polish, refusing to meet his eyes.

"It was weird though," Byron continued. "Because when I told them I though Holden was a wonderful kid, they were completely confused as to who he even was."

Aria looked quickly at her mother, who had her head rested on her hand with her eyes closed.

_Well shit._ Aria thought.

"Is there something you'd like to say to me, Aria?"

She finally brought her gaze up to meet her fathers. As she saw the look of disappointment in his eyes, she could feel her own anger burning up.

_Hypocrite._ Was all she could think.

Her anger fueled the confidence that suddenly came to her.

"Well, they were probably confused as to why you were talking about Holden instead of Ezra."

Her eyes didn't fall from his, and he was slightly taken back from her boldness.

"Well, I'm sure you could see how I would've gotten that mixed up, seeing as how you've been going out with Holden the last few months and I strictly told you not to see Ezra anymore."

"I don't really care what the hell you said, dad."

Byron's eyes widened at her comment. "Excuse me?"

"I'm still seeing Ezra."

"I'm grasping that."

"Good."

"What I'm not grasping is _why_ you are still seeing him."

Aria sighed, slumping her shoulders. "Because I love him, dad. I don't know how many times I'm going to need to tell you that before you understand it."

Byron exhaled sharply. "Aria, that man does not love you. He –"

"How could you say that? Huh?" Aria said sternly, her jaw tightened. "I know that he loves me, because after everything we've been through, he's still here. If he was just using me, why would he still be fighting so hard for our relationship, risking going to jail and having to lose _both_ of his jobs?"

She paused for a moment, looking at her father. "I know you think that our relationship is as meaningless as yours was with Meredith. But if you just gave us the time to explain, you could see that it's not."

Ella, who had seemed to get lost from the argument, spoke up.

"She's right, Byron. We haven't given them anytime to explain anything. If you could just see how he interacts with her –"

"Wait, wait, wait." Byron said, looking at her in disbelief. "You've known that this has been continuing to go on? And you're okay with it? I know we talked about mixed signals before Ella, but this is –"

"Yes, I have known about it." Ella said, cutting him off.

Byron shook his head and ran his hand over it. He scoffed.

"Dad, please, just give us time to explain." Aria said quietly, looking at her father pleadingly.

He shook his head again, standing up from the table. "I need some air."

He grabbed his car keys off the kitchen counter, before going out of the house. Aria and Ella could hear the engine to the car start, before it drove away from the driveway.

"Mom." Aria whispered, looking at her. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay sweetie." Ella said, reaching over and squeezing her hand gently. "He just needs some time."

Aria nodded, lowering her gaze.

"Why don't you finish you're lunch?" Ella asked.

"I'm not really hungry anymore." Aria responded.

Ella stood up, and began clearing the plates. As she brought them over to sink, she said, "Go hang out with your friends. I'm picking up Mike from Dean's house in thirty minutes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

Aria stood up and walked over to her mother, wrapping her arms around her waist. "I love you, mom."

Ella rubbed her along her back and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too. Always."

Aria nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. "Thank you."

**Author's Notes: Hope you guys liked it! Killed two birds with one stone in the chapter. Let me know what you guys thought.**

**I'll let you guys know that I'm having a little bit of trouble with everything –A related because personally, I think Aria has something to do with being –A. Call me crazy, but… :)**

**Who do you guys think is –A?**


	6. Coming Clean

**Chapter Six**

Ezra had just finished a call with his brother when Aria came charging through his apartment door. She slammed it shut, went to sit on the couch, crossed her arms and huffed.

Blinking a few times at the sight he just saw and trying his hardest not to laugh, Ezra moved to sit on the coffee table in front of her and placed his hands on her knees.

"I take it lunch didn't go very well." He said gently, rubbing up and down her thighs.

"It was horrible!" Aria cried. "My dad doesn't believe that it's even _possible_ for you to love me."

Ezra leaned forward and pressed his lips to her cheek. He hovered there afterwards. "It's okay sweetheart. He'll come around eventually."

"How long is it going to take? He's known about us for months!"

Ezra sighed. "I don't know, baby. I don't know."

Aria leaned back against the couch. Ezra brought her hands up to his mouth, kissing them softly. A knock on the door interrupted them, and Ezra stood up to answer it.

"Holy –" Ezra caught himself quickly, not wanting to swear in front of the man in front of him, who he never thought would give him the time of day again. His nerves were immediately shot up and his shoulders tensed.

"Hello Ezra." Byron said simply.

"Hi… Byron."

Aria's head popped up at the sound of her father's name, and she was torn between being worried or pissed off that he was here.

After a few awkward moments of silence, Ezra snapped out of the shock faze he was sucked into and his gentleman instinct kicked in.

"Uh, would you like to… come in?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"Yes, I would." Byron stepped into the apartment, looking around. His gaze stopped on Aria, who stood up quickly and crossed her arms again.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her incredulously.

"I could ask you the same thing!" She shot back, trying to keep the waver out of her voice.

They all stood there for a few more moments before Ezra finally decided to speak up.

"Um, maybe we should all sit and talk about this?" He asked nervously.

It was strange, only a few months ago, he was able to stand his ground around Byron, but now he felt like he was walking on eggshells again. He guessed it was because he was hoping since Byron was actually – somewhat – speaking to him again, he could try for another chance to make things better.

"Talk about what?" Byron asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Everything, dad." Aria responded, trying to stay calm.

"Well," Byron started, turning to look at Ezra. "I've been thinking a lot over the past few hours. My daughter and I had lunch this afternoon, and we got into a bit of an argument. You know, she's entirely convinced that you're in love with her. She said that, if I just gave you two the time to talk, I would then understand, and I would see that was true."

Ezra paused. Aria had said that he would probably be the main discussion over their lunch, but he hadn't thought she meant it to this extent.

"…I _am_ in love with your daughter." He said slowly.

Aria looked over at her father, who sighed and sat down on the chair across from the couch. He looked completely mentally drained.

"Maybe I should call mom. Have her come over so we can all talk." She said softly. No one responded to her, so she pulled out her phone and dialed her mother's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom… could you come over to Ezra's apartment? …Right now?" She asked.

"Uh, sure. Why?"

"Well, I'm here with Ezra… and dad." Aria said hesitantly.

Ella paused for a moment before responding. "I'm on my way."

"Thanks." Aria said quietly, before hanging up the phone.

She sat back down onto the couch and brought her sight up to Ezra, who was still standing by the doorway looking very nervous.

"Can I… get you something to drink, Byron?" He asked.

"Alcohol would be nice."

Ezra looked at him, wondering if he was being sarcastic or not. When he saw the seriously look on his face, he looked up at Aria. She shrugged, and he slowly moved to the kitchen to pour him a glass of scotch. He brought it to Byron, handing it over before going to sit on the couch next to Aria. He left a few inches between the two of them due to her father's watchful gaze.

They all sat in silence until another knock on the door alerted them of Ella's arrival.

"Come in." Ezra called.

Ella opened the door, stepping in and surveying the scene. Her eyes caught on the scotch in her husband's hand, and Aria and Ezra sitting anxiously on the couch.

Aria moved closer to Ezra, making room for her mother. Ella sat down, noticing the tense silence that had obviously been filling the room before she got there.

"Byron." She started. "What is it that brought you over here?"

"Well, as I told these two earlier, I've been thinking and…" He shook his head. "Despite popular belief, I'm not looking to cause more disruption of this family." He looked at his daughter. "I thought about what you said, about listening to you at least explain, and how I haven't given you the chance.

I don't want to push you away, Aria. But you need to understand that this… situation, isn't one most father's hear their daughter come home and tell them on a regular basis."

"I know that," She said quietly. "Which is why I – we – have wanted the time to explain it."

Byron sighed. "Okay. Well here's your chance."

Aria looked over at Ezra, wondering where to start.

When she came up blank, he stepped up to the plate.

"I love Aria more than anything." He tried desperately to find the words to explain how much he loved her, but he had found long ago that there weren't any. "I know that the situation that it happened in definitely isn't the best…"

"So you do realize that your relationship is wrong, right? You're seven years apart, and this went on while you were her teacher." Byron paused, and said slowly, "I know that I'm not one to talk. But I learned my lesson when my family was almost completely destroyed by my actions."

"I understand, completely, how wrong it was for us to have the relationship while I worked at Rosewood. We honestly tried to stop it, multiple times."

Byron raised his eyebrow. "Tried?"

Ezra leaned back against the couch. "When we first found out about the student/teacher relationship, it ended immediately. But the next time we spoke," He looked over at Aria, remembering the day of Ali's funeral. "I watched her start to walk away from me, and I remembered the girl I had met before all the complications were set into play. I barely knew anything about her, but she seemed so… perfect, and I wanted to know more about her. The idea of not knowing her already had been hard to imagine."

A small blush covered Aria's cheeks, and her mother smiled at the sight.

Ezra paused, waiting for Byron to say something. When he didn't, he took it as a sign to continue.

"We took things slowly after that. Talks in between classes, texting, she came over here a few times for dinner –" at the look on Byron's face, he quickly added, "We never did anything, I swear. Like I said, we took it slow."

Byron looked over at the bed in the apartment, and Ezra thanked the heavens for his luck in having made the bed after Aria left. That was one more argument he did not wish to have.

Aria noticed his glance. "We honestly didn't, dad. I promise."

Byron sighed and nodded.

"Things began to become a lot more complicated after that." Ezra continued. "Our feelings for one another developed more, and soon the sneaking around and hiding became too much. There was a lot of jealousy, and a lot of time spent being upset that we couldn't have a normal relationship. That's why when you recommended me for the job at Hollis, I took it. I'll always be grateful for that."

Byron nodded again, encouraging him to continue.

"After I started the job at Hollis, we began to think of the best time to tell you and Ella about it. But whenever an opportunity came, it was either not the best environment or not the best timing.

My ex fiancé works at Hollis, and she found out about the relationship. Unknowingly to me, I guess she started to blackmail Aria with it, and told her to end the relationship."

Ella and Byron looked at Aria, who nodded. "Yeah, uh, she told me to stop seeing him or she would tell the police that we had a student/teacher relationship. So I did."

"I found out about it, and that's when he decided to tell you." Ezra stated. "We realized sooner would be better than later, because we didn't want you to hear it from someone else before you heard it from us."

Byron was quiet for a moment, before he asked, "And after _I _told you to end the relationship?"

Ezra nodded. "We did. Kind of. I actually don't know. We didn't see or talk to each other for a while though, but your daughter is incredibly stubborn."

Byron and Ella both laughed, well aware of that fact.

"She convinced me to go see her, and things started up again from there."

"When did you find out about it, Ella?" Byron asked, looking at his wife.

"Well, I've _known_ about it since Maya's funeral. I didn't really accept it until one night while you were at an overnight business meeting in Philadelphia. Aria was having a nightmare, and I overheard her and Ezra talking on the phone afterwards. He was able to calm her down a lot faster than you and I ever could.

I paid closer attention after that. Began to notice the way her eyes lit up when his name was brought up, or when she finally smiled after days without doing so when he called or texted her."

Ezra looked over at Aria, who was blushing brightly. He smiled softly at her, and she sheepishly smiled back.

"I only started to let them see each other on Labor Day, though."

"A year from when you and Aria first met." Byron clarified, looking at Ezra.

"Yes."

It was quiet for a long time after that. Ezra and Aria grew more nervous as time ticked by, and after a while they was completely on edge. They didn't say anything though. It was obvious Byron was very deep in thought.

"You really love my daughter?" Byron finally asked.

Ezra let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. "Very much so, sir."

"Okay."

Ezra sat for a moment, confused. "Okay?"

"I believe you."

Taking a deep breath, Ezra offered simply, "Thank you."

Byron nodded.

"Can I ask something?" Ella spoke up.

Ezra nodded. "Anything."

"When I was talking to Aria before school started, she said that you were in New York looking for a new job. Why?"

Ezra looked at her, dumbfounded. Did she really not know? He looked over at Byron, who didn't say anything.

"Uh, I… lost my job at Hollis." He said.

"I figured. I was just wondering what happened."

Aria's face had hardened, and she realized that her father hadn't told her about it. She looked over at him. "Dad?"

"What?" He asked confused.

"Care to fill mom in?"

"Fill her in on what?" Byron asked slowly.

Aria gawked at him, shocked that he would continue to lie about it, but soon his honestly confused expression sunk in. Ezra and her shared a look of their own confusion.

"What's going on?" Ella asked, looking at the three of them.

"Well," Aria began. "We kind of thought that dad was the reason Ezra lost his job."

"What?" Both of her parents responded.

"Byron!" Ella looked at her husband shocked.

"No, no, no. Now I'll admit that I had the dean offer Ezra the job in New Orleans for personal reasons, but I didn't say anything that would get him fired." Byron said honestly.

Aria shook her head, confused. "If you didn't, then…"

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and suddenly it dawned on her. She pulled out her phone and opened the message.

"_Surprise!_

_-A"_

She sat there in shock for a moment.

_Shit._

Guilt spread over her at the realization that –A had been the cause for Ezra losing her job. She couldn't believe she didn't see it sooner.

"Everything okay, Aria?" Her mother asked, looking at her skeptically.

She quickly recovered herself. "Yeah, Hanna just said something a little bit shocking. No big deal." She quickly tucked her phone into her back pocket.

"It was probably my ex fiancé." Ezra said suddenly.

Aria glanced over at him, and his expression told her that he had seen straight through her lie about the text, and was very aware of what just happened. He was just trying to help cover it up.

"May I ask who that is?" Byron asked.

"Jackie Molina."

"Oh. I've had the pleasure of meeting her." Ella said, frowning. "She's very… charming."

Ezra scoffed.

Byron sighed. "So where are we going from here?"

"I've already set some ground rules, but maybe we should expand some a little bit to make everyone comfortable." Ella said.

"Firstly, as long as you're truthful about where you're going and who you're going to be with, I don't have a problem with you coming here." Ella said, looking at Aria.

Byron sat up. "Wait a minute now –"

"Byron, shush. We can't keep the leash too tight." She looked over at Ezra specifically, giving him a warning glance as she added, "I trust them not to do anything they wouldn't want to tell us about."

Ezra cleared his throat, and Aria tried her best to hide the deep, red blush that covered her face.

"But," Ella began again, "The rules that I would have if you were dating a teenage boy also apply to this relationship. No sleepovers."

Aria mentally huffed. Looks like the lying wouldn't completely be over.

"Curfew is still intact, and you better have your phone on you at all times. Got it?"

"Got it." Aria responded.

"Good. Now, I think we could all use a breather after this conversation. Byron, let's go home."

"But –"

"No, now. Let's go. Leave them alone."

Byron huffed, standing up. Ezra stood also, and accepted Bryon's offer of a handshake.

"Thank you." He said again.

Byron mumbled, before following his wife out of the apartment. He shot a look over his shoulder at the two of them and said sternly, "Behave."

"We will." Aria said, rolling her eyes.

Her parents left, and Ezra shut the door after them. He then turned around and looked at Aria, shocked at what had just happened.

Aria squealed, before jumping off the couch and flinging herself into his arms. He caught her and lifted her up spinning her around as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

She giggled, before leaning down and pressing her lips to his. Her fingers ran through his hair as their kisses turned passionate before she pulled away.

"I cannot believe that just happened." She whispered against his lips.

"Me neither." He whispered back, setting her down on her feet again.

She grinned up at him, grabbing his hands and walking backwards. "Wanna celebrate?"

He then noticed her course of direction to the bed, and shook his head at her. "Did you not just hear your parents?"

"I heard them." She said, reaching up and beginning to unbutton his shirt. "They were talking like we haven't even done it yet."

He laughed. "How can you even think about this right now? Your parents were here thirty seconds ago."

Aria shrugged. "I don't know, I guess part of me just thinks that they fact that my parents are accepting our relationship makes you only that more sexy." She hummed and reached up on her toes to kiss along his neck.

"That doesn't make any sense." He chuckled.

Aria gripped the sides of his shirt and flopped back on the bed, pulling him down with her. He smiled, pressing his lips to hers quickly before leaning back to look at her.

She giggled, biting her lip and looking up at him. She ran her hand over his cheek, trying to coax him back down.

Ezra shook his head. "What did the text message say?" He asked.

Aria huffed, frowning at him. "Did you really just have to ruin the moment?"

He lowered his face a mere inches away from hers. "Sorry, baby. Now tell me."

Aria dropped her gaze, the guilt returning. "-A is the reason you lost your job at Hollis, not my father."

Ezra sighed, dropping his head onto her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, running her fingers through his hair. She closed her eyes, feeling terrible. She would much rather –A punished her for whatever the reason they had against her, and left Ezra out of it. He didn't deserve it.

He shook his head. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is. –A wouldn't even be messing with you if it wasn't for me." Aria thought of what it would be like if she had never met Ezra before school. He wouldn't have had to give up his first job, or lose his second and have a constant threat hanging over his head of possibly going to jail.

But she couldn't imagine what her life would be like without him anymore; of what it would be like if she hadn't gone into that bar.

Pulling back, Ezra gently cupped her face in his hands. "Hey," He whispered. "Look at me." Her eyes opened and met his.

"Nothing will ever make me regret falling in love with you." He whispered tenderly, running his thumbs along her cheeks.

Heart swelling twice as big, Aria's eyes shined as she smiled up at him.

"Okay, now you _need_ to come back down here." She smirked.

Ezra complied willingly, capturing her lips with his again.

xxx

Aria and Ezra lay in bed, listening to the sound of the storm outside while watching the rain fall against the window.

Ezra was tracing his fingers lazily along Aria's back as she nuzzled her face into his neck. He turned his head to rest his lips against her forehead.

"Mmm, I don't ever want to move." She whispered.

Ezra chuckled. "I know the feeling."

She sighed, and closed her eyes, content in his arms.

Then her phone began to ring.

"Ignore it." She said, snuggling closer to him.

The ringing stopped after a few moments before starting up again.

"Are you kidding me?" Aria exclaimed, pushing up from Ezra's chest. She grabbed her bag from the floor by the side of the bed and began to dig through it.

She pulled out her phone and looked the ID. It was Spencer.

Sighing, she pressed the green button, answering the phone. "Hey Spence."

"Hey. Look, you need to come over to Hanna's house. Now." Spencer responded quickly.

Aria huffed. "Now?"

"Yes now! We have a serious problem."

"What do you mean?" She asked worriedly.

"Just get over here. Fast."

"Okay, okay." She sighed, looking away from Ezra. "I'm on my way."

She disconnected the phone, and brought her gaze up to her boyfriend's disappointed face.

"You're leaving?" He pouted.

"Don't make me feel worse about it then I already do." She whined, leaning down and kissing him chastely.

She got out of bed and pulled her clothes back on before going to the bathroom to touch up her makeup and fix her hair. She grabbed a perfume bottle out her bag and sprayed it around her, trying to make herself more presentable.

As she walked back into the main room, she found Ezra still in bed with the sad puppy look remaining on his face.

"Ezra," She whined. "I'm sorry, she wouldn't tell me what she wanted, but she said that I needed to get over there immediately."

He nodded, opening his arms for her.

She crawled back onto the bed and straddled him, leaning down to press her lips to his. He cupped her face, holding her there for a few minutes.

"Mmm." She hummed, pulling away. "I'll call you later."

"Okay. I love you."

She smiled, kissing him quickly again. "I love you, too."

She got off the bed, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door.

"Bye!" She called over her shoulder.

"Bye, baby." He called back.

She smiled, and started towards Hanna's house.

xxx

Walking into Hanna's house, Aria immediately sensed that something was wrong. It was too quiet as she made her way up the stairs to Hanna's room.

She looked around, taking in the surroundings. Hanna was sitting on her bed with her arms crossed and a stubborn look on her face. Emily was sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed and looked over at Aria, giving her a weak smile. She then looked over at Spencer who sat in the chair at Hanna's desk with her head in her hands, rubbing her temples slowly.

Aria shut the door behind her before moving to go sit on the opposite side of the bench Emily was on.

"What's going on?" She asked hesitantly.

Spencer's head shot up, and she gave Hanna an annoyed look.

Aria looked at her friend, reaching out to put her hand on her knee. "Han?"

Hanna sighed, looking down, before meeting Aria's gaze.

"Spencer's annoyed with me."

Aria ignored as Spencer scoffed behind her, and rubbed Hanna's arm. "Why? What's going on?" She asked again.

Hanna took a deep breath.

"I want to go see Mona."

**Author's Notes: Okay, keep in mind that as much as we wish Byron would get hit by a bus or fall of a cliff, it's not going to happen. *She says with loads of disappointment.***

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please review your thoughts!**


	7. Shot In The Dark

**Chapter Seven**

The room was quiet; nothing but the sound of their breathing could be heard. Shock was written all over Aria's face as Hanna stared at her, waiting for a response.

Hanna wanted to see Mona? _Why?_ Aria knew Mona had been one of her best friends, but she figured that it was better this way; Mona locked up and out of the girls lives completely. Why would Hanna want to bring her back into it?

Emily sighed, looking down at her nails and picking slowly at the polish. All girls seemed to be ignoring the fumes that were currently buzzing off of Spencer, who was obviously the least bit happy with Hanna's declaration.

"Um." Aria choked out, deciding to voice her questions after the silence in the room began to become suffocating. "…Why?"

Hanna huffed. "Don't I have the right to? She pretended to be my friend for almost a year, while the entire time she was torturing the four of us. I think I well deserve the chance to ask what the hell she thought she was doing."

Aria stared at her friend, stunned by the turn of emotions. It seemed like only yesterday, Hanna was still devastated by the fact that one of so called friends could do something this this to her. At the beginning, she even refused to believe it. Now look at her; pissed off and wanting redemption.

"Hanna, you have completely lost your mind." Spencer laughed humorlessly.

"Really? How would you feel if we found out Melissa was really a part of this? Wouldn't you want to know why she did it?" Hanna shot back.

"That's different. Melissa is my sister." Spencer stuttered.

"So? I look at all of you as my sisters. And Mona was one of my best friends. I looked at her as one, too."

Spencer sighed, getting up from the desk chair. She moved to sit on her knees in front of her friend, taking her hands into hers. "Han, I know you think this is the right thing to do. But what are you expecting to hear from her?"

"An explanation."

"Do you really think she's going to give you one? And what if she does and the reason behind it is worse than you think it is? What are you going to do then?"

Hanna looked down, toying nervously at the bottom of her shirt. "I don't know. I just want to understand, even if the reason is hard to hear."

Spencer shook her head, closing her eyes.

"Who knows?" Hanna continued. "Maybe I _can_ get information out of her. To help us find out who the new – or old - -A is."

"I think you should go." Emily spoke up. Spencer's eyes shot up at her.

"Don't give me that look." Emily told her. "She needs to do this for herself."

Spencer sighed, looking over at Aria. "What do you think?"

Aria shifted, bringing her knees up in front of her. She knew this could turn out really badly, but she also knew this was an opportunity that could not only help Hanna, but help all of them.

She sighed. "Sorry Spencer. I agree with Hanna and Emily."

"Aria!" Spencer exclaimed.

"She needs closer, Spence."

Spencer scoffed, standing up. "Well, then I'm coming with you." She said to Hanna.

Hanna stood up as well, and gave a small smile to her friend.

"Look Spence, I really appreciate that you're so worried about me, but this is something that I need to do on my own. If anything goes wrong, I promise I'll call you ASAP."

Spencer sighed. "I just don't want to you to get hurt more than you already have been by her."

Hanna smiled, leaning up to wrap her in her arms.

Aria and Emily exchanged a look.

"_The game has only just begun."_

xxx

Monday afternoon, Aria lounged on her bed, working on the load of homework she had already been assigned in school. The rest of her weekend had gone by relatively smoothly. Her father hadn't spoken about her relationship with Ezra since their conversation in his apartment, so she hoped he was still as accepting of it as he seemed on Saturday.

As if on cue, her phone began to ring, Ezra's specialized ringtone filling her room.

_Drop everything now_

_Meet me in the pouring rain,_

_Kiss me on the sidewalk_

_Take away the pain,_

'_Cause I see sparks fly_

_Whenever you smile_

She had set the ringtone after their reunion under the clock town. Grabbing her phone, she pressed the answer key and brought it up to her ear.

"Hey." She said brightly.

"Hey yourself. What are you up to on this mighty fine day?"

Aria giggled. Sun was finally peeking through from behind the clouds over Rosewood, making for a drastic change from the dull, wet weather they had the week before.

"Oh you know, nose buried in a textbook, reminiscing about the fantastic events that took place this weekend. Nothing big." She responded.

She could almost hear his smile coming from the other side of the phone. "Well you know, the good times don't have to stop now. Why don't we make the most out of this wonderful weather?"

Aria sat up in her bed, intrigued. "What did you have in mind, Fitz?"

He chuckled. "Well, I was thinking maybe we could a coffee, and then scour the streets of Philadelphia for entertainment. I'm sure we could find something to do."

"Wait." Aria said, smiling largely. "You mean, like an actual date? In public?"

"I did mention 'the streets of Philadelphia', right?"

Aria laughed. "I guess you did. Well, Mr. Fitz, I'd be honored to occupancy you."

"Great. Then I'll pick you up in say… fifteen minutes?"

"Can't wait."

Ezra laughed again. "I love you. See you in a few."

"Love you, too."

Aria disconnected the phone and jumped off her bed. She wondered into the hallway and bumped into her mother coming out of her own room.

"Hey, I was just coming to look for you." Aria told her.

"What for?"

"Well," Aria said, smiling largely. "Ezra just called and was wondering if I could go out with him to Philly this afternoon."

Ella laughed at her daughter's expression. "Philly, huh? Is this your first public date?" She asked, making her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Aria followed her closely behind her.

"…Not exactly." Aria replied, resting her forearms on the kitchen counter.

Ella looked at her with her eyebrows raised. "Care to tell what this date included?"

Aria tucked her hair behind her ears, looking up at her mother hesitantly. "Remember the art show you were going to go to last year, but your car broke down?"

"Yeah..."

"Ezra and I were there."

"Really?" Ella asked, bewildered. "Wow, didn't you two get lucky." She laughed and shook her head.

"I guess so." Aria smiled back. "So… can I go today?"

"I don't see why not. Just remember the rules. Cell phone on at all times. Curfew." Ella told her.

"I promise I'll follow them." Aria said brightly. "Thank you."

She then rushed upstairs and dug around in her closet for something new to wear. She wanted to look good on the first date they were having in almost a year. Giddy feelings began to fill her as she became more and more excited. She pulled out a pink tank top and matched it with a green skirt and a yellow belt around her waist. She found a pair of brown, strappy heels on the floor to finish it off.

She hurried over to the bathroom, fixing up her hair after the day at school and touching up her makeup. The sound of a car pulling up outside was brought to her ears, causing her to quickly grab her purse and cell phone.

Rushing down the stairs, she called out a goodbye to her mother and was out the door as quickly as possible. She spotted Ezra getting out of the driver's seat and walking around the car, surprised to see her hurrying towards him. He caught her in his arms as she pulled him down for a quick kiss.

"Hi." She said, breathlessly, as she pulled back.

"Hey." He replied. "You know, you kind of just ruined my idea of making this date have as much normality as possible, which included coming up to your door, greeting your parents, and walking you back to the car."

Aria giggled, smoothing out his dark blue, button down shirt. "Yeah, well I figured I'd save you from the possibility of any interrogations that might have been coming." She said before adding, "Plus, I'm really excited."

Ezra laughed, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I can tell." He stepped back, opening up the passenger side door. "Well, let's get this date started, then."

Aria smiled, sliding into the seat. He shut the door behind her, before walking around to the driver's side and getting in as well.

The ride to the city was mostly silent except for the quiet background music coming from the radio or the occasional conversation.

Aria rested her head on Ezra's arm, her fingers intertwined with his on the center consul as she flipped through the stations on the radio.

"So do you have anything in mind on what you want to do?" Ezra asked after a little while.

Aria shrugged. "No, I don't mind, as long as I'm with you."

A smile spread across Ezra's face, and he quickly leaned down to press his lips to the top of her head for a moment before bringing his eyes back to the road.

When they arrived in the heart of Philly, Ezra drove to a small, familiar coffee shop that he used to stop by when going to meetings in the city. Aria smiled, stepping out of the car along with Ezra. She walked around to his side of the car, where he was waiting with his hand outstretched to hers. Still smiling, she slipped her small one into his.

He led her into the coffee shop and they both placed their orders. As they waited by the pickup counter, he noticed the smile that hadn't wiped itself from Aria's face yet. He smirked, leaning down to give her a chaste kiss. She hummed against his lips, pulling away sheepishly when the cashier placed their orders on the counter with a knowing grin on his face.

"Thanks." Ezra said, handing him a twenty.

"No problem. You two have a good afternoon." The man replied, giving to two of them a wink. Aria looked away with a tint of pink in her cheeks which Ezra laughed at. She rolled her eyes, accepting her latte from him and taking a sip as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out of the café.

As they stood outside, Aria spoke up. "So what 'normal date' activity do you want to do?"

"Hmm." Ezra thought to himself. "How about bowling?"

Aria laughed. "Bowling?"

"Sure, why not?"

She shook her head. "I just kind of picture you of the type of bowler who's going to kick my ass."

Ezra just chuckled.

xxx

Aria was right.

They were currently in the middle of a game in the bowling alley, decked out in the rental bowling shoes.

She shook her head in disbelief as she watched Ezra bowl a perfect curve ball and get another strike, increasing his score by another three hundred points.

"You totally set me up with this little idea of yours." Aria told him accusingly as he walked back over to where she sat.

He laughed, leaning down to peck her lips. "Your turn."

Aria sighed, standing up and walking over to the ball dispenser, grabbing the light pink, eight pounder ball.

Ezra sat down in the seat she had just occupied and watched as she strolled over to the line and threw the ball. It went high and landed hard about halfway down the court, before slowly rolling down the lane and knocking five pins over.

Aria turned around and looked at him, biting shyly on her bottom lip. "I'm not very good at bowling."

Ezra smiled at her. "You're doing fine, baby."

Aria shook her head as she waited for her ball to come out of the dispenser again, and then made her second turn. The ball only knocked down one pin this time.

She sighed; moving to sit next to Ezra with her shoulders slumped.

Ezra laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her up to stand with him. "Come here. I'll show you." He went over to grab her ball and brought her over to their lane again.

Aria inhaled sharply as he handed her the ball and placed his hands on her hips, bringing her to stand in front of him. She could feel his chest press up against her back as he wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on top of hers.

"Okay," He whispered in her ear. "What you want to do is draw an imaginary dotted line to the center pin. Do you see it?"

"Yes." She replied shakily as his warm breath cascaded against her ear and down her neck.

"Good. Now, all you have to do is keep your wrist straight, step with your right leg and then your left at the foul line, and then follow through on that imaginary line."

Aria nodded, pressing her body further backwards against his. Ezra cleared his throat at the contact.

"Okay, you ready?" He asked her.

She swallowed, nodding her head. He walked with her as she followed his steps, releasing the ball at the foul line and watching the ball travel down the middle of the line. It knocked down all pins except for one.

Aria gasped as a large smile spread across her face. Ezra pressed his lips gently to the spot between her neck and shoulder. "See? You're great. Wanna try it by yourself?"

Aria nodded eagerly, and Ezra dropped his arms and walked over to receive her ball for her. He handed it to her before stepping back and watching her repeat his steps once again. She knocked down all but two.

She squealed, before turning towards Ezra, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "Thank you!"

Ezra laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her back. "No problem, baby."

The couple played a couple more games, Aria's skill increasing with every round from the practice and Ezra's advice.

They flirted constantly as they played, winking when the other got a gutter ball, teasing each other on the different throwing techniques they tried, and trying to maintain as much contact with one another as possible.

By the time they were done, they had played five games, Ezra beating her three to two.

It was beginning to darken outside when they left the alley hand in hand. Aria pulled out her phone, checking the time. 7:30.

"Do you want to grab some dinner?" He asked her.

"Mmm, yes." She smiled.

"What are you in the mood for?"

She thought for a minute. "You know, I'm actually just in the mood for a burger or something. You?"

Ezra laughed. "Sounds good to me."

The couple sat in the car, parked in the nearest fast food restaurant parking lot ten minutes later.

Aria opened her car door and stepped out, food in hand.

"What are you doing?" Ezra asked her.

She grinned at him. "Come on."

Ezra stepped out as well, watching his girlfriend as she placed their bag of burgers onto the roof onto the car before hopping up as well. She leaned against the windshield before looking over at Ezra, raising her eyebrow.

He laughed, shaking his head, but imitated her moves, and leaning back against the car next to her.

They finished their burgers making small conversation, before they talked quietly together. Aria smiled, looking over at him. She loved the moments when they could just sit back and laugh without much care. They were finally out in public, and they had spent the whole day without any stares or comments from anyone. She could definitely get used to this.

Aria moved to rest her head on Ezra's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

Ezra ran his fingers gently through her hair, savoring the moment of just lying there with her, staring up at the stars. Aria turned her head, and he looked down at her. They both smiled at each other, and she moved up a bit to press her lips to his. They kissed softly for a few moments, before Ezra pulled back reluctantly.

"As much as I'd hate to move," He said, glancing down at his watch. "We should probably start heading back if we want to get you home in time for curfew. Eleven, right?"

Aria sighed. "Yeah. And you're right." He kissed her quickly one more time, before the moved off the hood. Ezra walked their trash over to a bin, before joining Aria in the car and starting the engine.

xxx

Byron walked into the living room, finding Ella reading on the couch.

"You coming to bed soon?" He asked. "It's ten thirty."

Ella looked up from her page in the book and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm just waiting up for Aria."

"Why, where is she?" Byron asked.

"On a date with Ezra." Ella responded, bringing her gaze back to her reading.

Byron stuttered for a moment. He knew he had accepted their relationship to an extent, but he was still trying to repress the over-protective, fatherly feelings that kept rising up.

"Where are they?" He asked.

"Philadelphia."

His eyes widened. "Philadelphia?" He repeated. "Why did they need to go all the way out there?"

Ella sighed, closing the book in her hands. "Byron, relax. They both know the rules that we set. We need to give them our trust unless they break it and give us a reason not to."

Byron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah." He said simply.

He turned back towards the stairs. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay." Ella responded.

She watched him walk up the stairs, before she returned to her book, laughing quietly to herself.

xxx

Ezra pulled up in front of the Montgomery house, putting the car in park. He leaned back in the seat, looking over at his girlfriend.

"I had a lot of fun tonight." She said quietly. She smiled, before adding, "Thanks for teaching me how to bowl."

The corners of Ezra's mouth turn up a bit. "No problem, baby."

Aria bit her lip, before moving slowly across the center consul, bringing her lips up to his.

Ezra sighed, cupping her face gently in his hands. Aria brought her arms up around his neck, deepening this kiss. His hands moved into her hair, pulling her closer.

Aria moved one of her hands down, unbuckling her seat belt. She climbed gently over the consul, straddling Ezra's lap. His hands wondered down to her hips, gripping them tightly and pulling her closer to him. She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling gently on the ends, making him moan into her mouth.

She pulled away for air, gasping it down as his lips moved along her neck, sucking slightly. She moaned softly, pushing her hips down onto his, causing a groan to escape his own mouth.

"Aria," He whispered, bringing his lips back up to hers. Her hands found their way under his shirt, caressing his abdominal muscles. He gasped softly at her touch, bringing one of his hands up to her neck. Their kisses were turning more and more passionate, and the car began to become heated.

They broke away from each other again to breath, and there gazes locked. Ezra gently brushed the hair out of her face, running the back of his hand over her cheek.

A sudden movement caught his eye.

He looked over at the house, and saw a curtain sweeping back into place along the window.

He sighed, looking back at Aria. "I believe your mother is waiting for you."

Aria followed his earlier gaze, and pouted. "Yeah. I should probably go." She whispered.

"I'll walk you to the door."

She smiled, and they both got out of the car.

As they arrived onto the porch, Aria turned to him. She smiled shyly, looking down at her feet. Ezra brought his finger to her chin, turning her face up to look at him, bending down and pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss.

"I love you." He murmured.

Aria bit her lip. "I love you, too."

He kissed her again chastely, before backing up a bit. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She nodded, smiling. "I'll be waiting."

He smirked, starting down the stairs of the porch. "Night, baby."

"Night." She whispered.

Aria watched as Ezra walked back to his car, and waited until he pulled away before she entered her house.

She closed the door quietly, before leaning her back against it. She closed her eyes, smiling to herself.

"Did you have a nice time?" Ella's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Aria's eyes popped open, and she looked over at her mother sitting on the couch, smirking at her.

She nodded. "It was… unbelievable."

Ella laughed. "Wanna talk about it?"

Aria shrugged. "Can I tell you about it tomorrow? I'm kind of tired."

"Of course."

Aria smiled, before saying goodnight to her mother and heading up the stairs.

She walked into her room, closing the door behind her. Dropping her purse onto the chair by her bed, she made her way into the bathroom to wipe off her makeup and take off her jewelry. She walked back into her room after, shedding off her clothing and pulling on one of Ezra's old tee-shirts she had stolen from him.

The sound of her mother coming up the stairs and closing her own bedroom door came into the room as Aria climbed into bed, resting her head onto the pillow and snuggling into the covers. She closed her eyes, but before sleep could claim her, her phone buzzed on her nightstand.

Her eyes shot open, and she panicked for a moment as she grabbed her phone. Relief flooded through her when she saw that the message was from Ezra.

"_Tonight was amazing. Already_

_missing you. I love you, Aria._

_-Ezra"_

Aria smiled, quickly typing back her reply.

"_I agree, one hundred percent._

_I miss you too. So much. Can't wait_

_until I see you again. Love you, too._

_-Aria"_

Aria put her phone back onto the table next her bed, plugging it into the charger. She nuzzled her face into her pillow, and fell asleep with a smile still on her face.

**Author's Notes: Okay, I really hope you guys liked this chapter. No –A in this one. Review and let me know your thoughts. : ) **


	8. What Are You Waiting For

**Author's Notes: I'm sooooo sorry this update took forever. Busy busy week. I'll make it up to you this weekend. : )**

**Chapter Eight**

Aria sat in her first period desk waiting for class to start. Kids around her were lost in their own conversations, paying her no attention, and the hallway was still busy and buzzing with chatter. She sighed, looking down and doodling aimlessly on a blank page in her binder.

"What's that smile for?" Spencer asked, interrupting Aria from her own thoughts as she took her seat in front of her, before turning around.

"Hmm?" Aria asked.

"You've got a smile glued to your face. What's up?" Spencer informed her, laughing.

Aria closed her notebook, noticing for the first time that there was in fact a smile spread across her face. "Nothings up, I'm not thinking."

Spencer smirked. "Would those thoughts of yours have to do with a certain Fitz?"

Aria brushed her hair back, not saying anything.

"I knew it! What did he do?" Spencer asked her, leaning over her desk with interest.

"What did who do?" Hanna asked, sitting in her seat next to Aria.

"Ezra, who made Aria have a permanent smile and blush on her face." Spencer told her.

Now it was Hanna who was leaning forward and laughing. "Ohhhh! Did someone get a little freaky between the sheets with Fitzy again last night?"

Aria blushed red. "No, we just went on a date. In public."

"Really?" Spencer asked, smiling. "What did you guys do?"

Aria grinned, remembering the night before.

"Tell us!" Hanna said, lowering her voice when she saw the stares they were starting to get.

"Okay, okay, calm down." Aria said. "We went bowling and ate dinner on the roof of his car, finishing the night off with a make out session in his car."

"No!" Hanna gushed. "That's the most cliché date ever!"

Aria laughed at her comment, nodding her head. "That's what we were aiming for; as normal of a date as possible. It was… amazing, though."

"I bet." Spencer winked at her.

Aria opened up her mouth to respond, but the bell rang. Her French teacher, Mrs. Marchell, walked into the room and asked everyone to take their seats so that class could begin. Sighs filled the room, and Hanna and Spencer turned to sit forward in their desks.

Class went by quickly, and soon the girls headed out into the hallway to their next classes. As Spencer walked off to her locker, Hanna grabbed Aria's hand.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" She asked.

"Of course."

The girls locked arms and started towards calculus; another class the two shared.

"What's up?" Aria asked.

"I think I'm going to see Mona after school today." Hanna whispered quietly, making sure no one heard her.

"Oh?" Aria really didn't know what to say. She was supportive of Hanna's decision, but she was also worried it was retaliate on her.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" She sighed, looking up at her friend with worried eyes.

Hanna squeezed her arm slightly in her own. "Yeah, I just need to do this. I promise to call you afterwards and tell you everything that happened."

"Okay. And remember, if anything goes wrong, just S.O.S. me. I'll be there in seconds to kick ass if I need to." Aria told her, smiling.

Hanna laughed. "I will definitely remember that. I'd love to your 5'2 self pull some moves."

"It would be pretty amazing."

"Oh yeah."

As the girls entered the classroom and took their seats, Hanna turned to her again. "Don't tell Spencer I'm going today, okay? I love her, and I know she's just worried about me, but I don't want her to freak out. I'll be doing enough of that for myself."

Aria reached over, putting her hand over Hanna's. "I promise."

"Thank you."

All of Aria's classes were shortened for the day due to an early release so the teachers could have one of their beginning-of-the-year-meetings. She sighed as she got into her car, thinking about what she wanted to do; she smiled when she got an idea.

xxx

At lunch, Ezra walked out of the school building and into the courtyard where food concession stands were scattered along the green.

He was tired due to spending a couple of hours grading papers after her dropped off Aria at her house the night before, and then waking up early this morning to go to work. He ordered a coffee at a counter and paid for his drink. As he looked up, he did a double take as he watched the reason for his need of coffee stepping out her car.

He shook his head, chuckling to himself as he walked over to her.

Aria looked up at the school building, taking into account how much larger it was than Rosewood Day. She wished deeply that her school would have the food counters as she looked over them. Her eyes landed on Ezra as she did, and she smiled at his approach.

"You know…" Ezra murmured as he reached her. "It's a little weird being at a high school with you again."

Aria grasped the moment to tease him quickly. "Oh, you didn't hear? I just transferred over to this school. Surprise! Guess who's in your class again?"

"You're funny."

She giggled. "Aw, you don't want to teach your girlfriend anymore?"

Ezra smiled, scrunching up him nose and shaking his head. "I think I could live without it."

Aria put her hand over her chest, taking a step back in mock offense. "I'm hurt, Mr. Fitz."

Laughing softly, Ezra quickly stepped forward, wrapping his free arm around her waist and pulled her up against him. Her arms slid up around his neck as he leaned down, pressing his lips to hers gently. She felt his tongue lightly trace her bottom lip, silently asking for entrance. She parted her lips against his, and he slipped his tongue slowly into her mouth.

She hummed softly, playing softly with the hair on the back of his head, before catcalls made her jump away from him quickly.

The couple looked over at a group of boys who were grinning largely and laughing to themselves.

"You pick 'em good, Mr. Fitz!" One of them shouted over.

"Yeah, Mr. Fitz!" The others chorused.

Aria blushed red and hid her face in his chest.

Ezra chuckled at her. "Boys from my second period class. They do not understand the concept of personal information." He informed her nonchalantly as he gave them a small wave.

"Ah, I see." She responded, pulling her face back when she felt her cheeks cool down.

Ezra gently brushed her hair out of her face. "Not that I mind at all, but what are you doing here?"

Aria shrugged, grabbing his hand in her own as he led her over to a picnic table, a good distance away from the group of students in the court yard.

"School got let out early, so I thought I'd come visit you; see what your new school is like. I'm actually insanely jealous of the food stands everywhere." She told him as they sat down.

He laughed, nodding. "Yeah, they are definitely one of the perks to teaching here."

"So how long is your lunch break?"

"About thirty minutes." He answered, glancing at his watch. "But I have a free period next, which adds another forty-five minutes to it."

Aria smiled. "Sweet. Well I can stay for a little while. I need to leave when Hanna calls me though."

"Big plans?" He grinned.

She shook her head. "Not good ones."

The grin slipped from Ezra's face, and his hand came out to touch the side of her face, making her gaze rise to his. He looked at her seriously, looking for any sign at the beginning of a lie when he asked, "You _are_ staying safe, right?"

Aria sighed. "I promised I would." She reached up and grabbed his hand from her face before intertwining her fingers through his on the top of the wooden table. "Hanna's going to see Mona this afternoon." She whispered.

Ezra's brows furrowed as he squinted in confusion. "Why?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I think she just needs some type of closer. She was a lot closer to Mona than the rest of us were, so it's been harder for her to take. She just wants to find out some answers."

"Do you think Mona will give her any?"

"I don't know." Aria paused, thinking about it. "Maybe. She said she did it because Hanna was her only friend, and when the four of us started to talk again, she felt like we were taking Hanna from her. I don't really understand that though, because getting the messages from –A is what brought us together again. That and Ali's murder discovery."

"Maybe she was scared of the competition since all of you were reunited again." Ezra threw in.

Aria looked away as a breeze blew by. "Maybe."

Ezra hesitated before speaking again; worried he was asking too many questions in one sitting. "How's everything with –A going?"

Aria looked back at him. "Okay. We haven't gotten any new messages in a while, at least none that I know of. We haven't really started to look into it again yet either."

"Maybe they aren't as determined as they were last time."

Aria groaned. "I don't know how –A figures things. Can we change the subject?"

He sighed, nodding. "Sure."

Aria grabbed his coffee from him, taking a sip. He smirked, pulling it back from her lips. "You're drinking my only way of staying awake for the rest of the school day."

She giggled. "Up late last night?"

Ezra smirked. "Yeah, I went on a date with this amazing girl, and when I got home, I realized I still had a bunch of papers to grade. Kept me up for a while."

"I'm sure. This girl must be pretty amazing to lose sleep over." Aria said jokingly.

Ezra nodded, looking into her eyes to convey the truth of his words.

"She is."

xxx

Ezra had managed to get Aria into the building without being questioned by any other staff members after she insisted he showed her his new classroom. It was a lot larger than his old one at Rosewood, and they had a lot more books to read for the school year. Computers lined the back of the room, proving even more that Aria was indeed right about the school being much more financial than hers.

Aria was seated on top of Ezra's desk as he stood in front of her, kissing her deeply as he ran his hands along her thighs and waist. She pulled him closer to her by his shirt, battling his tongue with her own. Ezra quickly gained dominance as he usually did; groaning as she gently began to suck lightly on his tongue in her mouth.

He ran his hands under the skirt of her dress up to her hips, caressing them softly before gently nudging her backwards. She rested backwards on the desk, holding herself up by her elbows as he leaned down over her. Aria clawed at his back, trying to bring him closer to her.

They broke away for air, and Ezra's lips traveled down her neck, before moving up to suck gently on the soft spot behind her ear. Aria moaned, holding his head against her, willing him not to stop.

Unfortunately, buzzing began to retreat from in her bag. He reluctantly pulled away from her, disappointment on his face.

Aria sighed, reaching in to grab her phone, knowing it was probably Hanna.

"_S.O.S. My place._

_-Hanna"_

Her stomach twisted into knots after she read the message, immediately running through every thought she had on what could have gone wrong. Her mind began to spin; there were far too many possibilities.

She thanked the skies above her that she could at least rule out all physical injuries since Mona was locked behind a set of bars and unable to put her hands on Hanna in any way.

She put her phone back into her bag, looking up at Ezra. "That was Hanna. I need to go."

Ezra nodded, stepping back so she could hop off the desk, pulling the strap of her bag onto her shoulder and fixing her dress. "Thanks for helping me break in my desk. I knew it was missing something." He smirked at her.

Aria rolled her eyes but giggled, smoothing out the front of his shirt and stretching up to kiss his chastely. "No problem."

He caught her hand as she began to walk out. "Call me if something goes wrong, or if you need me for anything. Please."

She smiled slightly at his sweetness, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug. "I will. I love you."

Ezra rubbed his hands along her back, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, too."

Aria pulled back, smiling at him again, before turning to walk out of the classroom. "I'll see you later."

She walked down the hallway and out of the school building, giggling slightly as the boys who teased her earlier waved at her and winked obnoxiously. She waved back, before reaching into her bag for her phone again as it beeped.

She stopped as she reached her car, reading the message again carefully.

"_Stop telling your boy toy_

_everything, before I make_

_sure you do._

_-A"_

Aria sighed, locking her phone as she got into her car. She figured she wouldn't be able to get away with telling Ezra about –A for long. A tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of having to lie to him again about everything, especially now that he knew that it was going on.

She knew –A wasn't someone to joke around though, and she couldn't take the risk of Ezra getting hurt.

Wiping the tear from her face, she started to drive towards Hanna's house.

She just hoped Ezra wouldn't find out about this.

xxx

"What's going on? What happened? Are you okay? What did she say?" Spencer asked anxiously as she burst through the door to Hanna's house.

"Shh!" Aria said sternly, giving her a look to quiet down.

Hanna was lying on her couch with her hand covering her eyes, not saying anything.

"What happened?" Spencer asked again, more calmly this time.

Aria shook her head. "I don't know, she hasn't said much yet."

Spencer moved to sit on the floor in front of the couch near Hanna's head. Aria sat on the armrest above her, while Emily sat on the other. Spencer gently touched her hand, pulling it away from her face. "Han?"

Hanna shook her head quickly, taking in a shaky breath. "I don't even know what to say. She… she looked the same way she did when we last saw her in the police station; it was like she wasn't even there, or she wasn't the same person anymore." She paused, a tear sliding slowly down her face. "She said that we deserved to be tortured after the way we treated her when Ali was still alive and since I wasn't as close to her when we all became friends again. She doesn't feel any remorse over doing everything, even now. And she said… she said it wasn't over, and that we won't be able to stop what's coming for us."

Aria huffed angrily as she stroked Hanna's hair back. "What a bitch." She muttered.

Hanna sat up. "I'm so done with this –A crap! I don't want to deal with it anymore. Honestly, what have we done to deserve it?"

"We were friends with Ali." Spencer said. "Everyone who hated her hates us, too."

"That's not very fair."

"Actually, I guess in a way it is." Emily said hesitantly. "We never stood up for anyone that Ali tortured. We were almost as bad as she was."

"We need to do something." Aria spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "We're obviously all tired of being –A's little punching bags, so I think we need to start looking into Ali's murder again."

Spencer nodded. "You're right."

"Where should we start?" Emily asked.

"Where we left off last time." Aria said encouragingly. "Let's go through more of Ali's things and see what we can find. She said herself she had hiding places everywhere. We should find out what she was so intent on hiding."

"What about –A?" Hanna threw in.

"We should find out how –A knows so much about us. They might be someone close to us." Aria looked over at Spencer sorrowfully. "Spence, you should probably keep close tabs on Melissa. Watch what she does and see if she and Garrett are still together."

Spencer looked down. "I know. I'll keep my eye on her."

"We should watch everyone. See if any of them make any mistakes." Emily added.

Aria nodded. "Exactly. Maybe this bitch will finally mess up. But whether they do or not, we can't take this without fighting back, hard, anymore."

All the girls nodded in agreement, feeling the courage fill them. Until Aria's phone beeped.

"_Look at you, Aria, making plans like_

_you're running this game. Do you need_

_a reminder on who really makes the rules?_

_-A"_

**Author's Notes: Please review! Let me know your thoughts! xx**


	9. Run For Your Life

**Author's Notes: SO sorry this was late. I was on a mini vacation this week and was unable to update it. Very sorry for the wait. **

**Chapter Nine**

Friday came quickly for Aria, and she was glad for the small break from school over the next two days. She had been thinking nonstop about the text message –A had sent her, asking her if she needed a reminder of who made the rules in the sick game they were playing.

She was worried sick that –A was really going to give her that reminder. There was no telling what –A would do; they were capable of doing anything without regrets. Would they come after her? What about her parents? Or Ezra? Where they in danger now because of her?

The entire week had passed without repercussions, and she wonder if, and when, –A would strike home.

She walked into her house, finding her mom in the living room.

"Hey." Ella greeted her. "How was school?"

Aria sat down in a chair across from her. "It was fine."

"That's good."

Aria nodded. "I was wondering if it would be okay if I went over to Hanna's house tonight."

Ella gave her a skeptical look. "You can… as long as that is where you're really going."

"It is, I promise." Aria reassured her. "Spencer, Emily and I just want to cheer up Hanna. She's been a little out of it this week, so we decided to do a girls night."

"That sounds fun." Ella smiled. "Yes, you can go."

Aria stood up and started up the stairs. "Thanks!" She called over her shoulder.

When she approached the top, she noticed Mike rummaging through his room. Knocking quietly on the door, she walked in a few steps before leaning up against the side wall. "Hey."

Mike looked up at her for a moment, before continuing to go through his things. "Hi."

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I just lost something."

"What did you lose?"

"Just… something."

Aria furrowed her eyebrows as she watched Mike close the drawer to his dresser and walk hastily over to his closet.

"Whatever it is must be pretty important." She said noted hesitantly. "Need any help?"

Mike huffed, turning around to look at her before grabbing his jacket off of his bed. "Aria, stop. It's nothing."

"Mike –"

"Just leave it alone." He glared at her, pushing past and running down the stairs. She heard the front door slam shut.

Aria stood there for a moment, stunned.

_What was that?_

Mike had been continuing to see his therapist during the summer, and while he had never told anyone else what was bothering him, he had seemed like he was doing better dealing with whatever it was.

Until now.

Aria quickly shook her head. She didn't want to believe that Mike was going to lose touch with the world again just because he lost something important to him.

There was still a nagging feeling in the back of her mind though.

She took in a shaky breath, before she quickly packed a bag in her room, throwing in her clothes and beauty products. Pulling on her jacket, she glanced at her reflection in her mirror, smoothing out her hair and taking a deep breath. There were dark spots under her eyes from the lack of sleep she had been having, and she thought she looked naturally jumpy. She wondered if that was even possible, before she realized that it definitely was whenever –A was involved.

Aria said goodbye to her mom before leaving her house and getting into her car.

She didn't even realize where she was headed until she pulled up in front of her destination.

xxx

Ezra opened the door to his apartment, finding his 5'2 girlfriend standing on the other side. He smiled softly at her.

"Hey." He said, surprised by her visit.

Aria gave him a weak smile, before stepping forward and burying her face into his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist, gripping the shirt he was wearing tightly in her fingers.

Ezra hugged her back, moving his hands slowly up and down her back and pressing his lips against the side of her head. He felt her sigh in relief at the feeling of being in his arms.

"Everything okay?" He whispered gently against her ear.

He felt her nod against his chest. "I just missed you." She replied after a moment.

"I missed you too, baby."

Aria slowly retracted herself from Ezra's arms as he closed the apartment door. "Is it okay if I stay here tonight?" She asked.

"Of course." He responded immediately as he noticed her bag. "I'm guessing your parents don't know about this."

"You'd be guessing correctly."

Ezra nodded, watching her as she wondered into the kitchen. She seemed... off. Not the normal cheerful, outgoing girl that he desperately fell in love with.

He still loved her all the same, but as he continued to survey her as she absentmindedly glanced around the room, not really seeing what was in front of her, he worried she was being sucked back into the world she had been in after Mona's arrest and Maya's death.

He sighed, debating on whether to question her on what was going on, but deciding against it. He had already asked her, and she didn't say anything, so she obviously wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Pushing her probably wouldn't be a smart idea.

Following her into the kitchen, Ezra walked up to her and leaned down to press a small kiss on the side of her neck. "Hungry?"

She shrugged. "A bit."

Ezra opened his refrigerator, twisting his mouth to the side at the sight of a quart of milk and an apple sitting on the shelf.

"We could order in?" He asked, seeing if she was okay with it.

She nodded in agreement, before going over to sit on the couch.

Ezra called the Chinese restaurant down the street and ordered both of their usuals. They always tended to order take out when she was over, so the person on the other end of the phone knew them well. After hanging up, he went to join Aria on the couch. He sat down, and she immediately curled up into his side, hugging herself to him tightly.

Rubbing his hand along her bicep, he hesitated before asking again, "Are you sure everything's okay?"

She nodded, nuzzling her face into his neck. "I just love you so much."

"I love you, too, Aria." He told her gently, worried. He knew there had to be something going on by her constant reminder of her feelings. He kissed her forehead, and his lips lingering there afterwards.

When a knock came at the door, Ezra told Aria she could chose something to watch on TV while he grabbed the food. He paid the delivery guy, before shutting the door and grabbing some napkins and plates out of the kitchen. He joined Aria shortly after, to see that she had picked an old comedy, _Baby Mama_.

They watched the movie as they ate; Aria's head resting in his lap. He smiled as he watched her giggle at certain parts in the movie, seeing his girl come back for a few moments. She moved to lie on his chest when the finished eating, resting her head over his heart as he gently ran his fingers through her brown locks. Her hair was already beginning to grow longer again, but it still landed along her chest.

When the movie ended, Aria sat up and stretched. She glanced over at him and smiled softly at him. He smiled back, leaning up to kiss her cheek.

They grabbed their plates and cartons from earlier, bringing them back into the kitchen. Ezra began to wash off the plates after throwing away their trash, and he could hear Aria ruffling through the cabinets behind him. When he finished, he turned around to look at her.

His eyebrows rose slightly at the sight before him. Aria was leaning against the counter while biting on her bottom lip and looking at him sheepishly, holding a bottle of vodka in her hands.

He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

He knew now that there was obviously something wrong. Aria had never asked to drink with him before, and he was confused on what he should do. From experience, he knew that drinking away your feelings never really helped, but he didn't want to tell her no.

"Aria…"

"I've drunk before, so it's not that big of a deal." She said quickly, trying to persuade him to say yes. "It would be fun."

Ezra hesitated. He really wished she would open up and tell him what was wrong, but he always found it difficult to say no to her.

Aria smiled slightly, seeing his resolve starting to crumble. She slowly stepped up to him, before moving her face closer to his.

"Please?" She whispered quietly.

With that, Ezra sighed in defeat, nodding his head in reply.

She grinned, opening the bottle while moving back to the couch.

"Aren't you going to join me?" She asked, seeing him still in the kitchen.

Ezra opened a cabinet door, grabbing a couple of shot glasses before walking over to her.

They both sat on the ground in front of the coffee table, leaning back against the couch. Ezra sat the glasses down onto the wood before turning to look at her.

"Wanna play a game?" Aria asked him.

"What game?"

"Never Have I Ever. You say something that you've never done, and if the other person has done it, they take a shot." She explained.

Ezra laughed, but nodded. "Sure."

Aria smiled. "Okay, I'll go first." She scooted forward, pouring vodka into the two shots on the table and setting one in front of him.

"Never have I ever… had sex before you."

Ezra sighed, shaking his head. He looked up at her as he brought the shot to his lips before swallowing it down. "Aria, I –"

"No, it's okay." She cut him off. "You've been to college and have been _engaged._ I kind of figured I wasn't your first. It's okay; I just wanted to start off with obvious questions." Her eyes down casted.

Ezra placed his finger below her chin, raising her eyes back to his. "Even though you weren't, it was… amazing Aria. So don't compare yourself to anyone else. I love _you._" He said honestly, emotion filling his voice.

"I love you, too." She looked up at him and smiled. "Your turn."

"Hmm. Never have I ever… had a fake ID."

Aria snorted, grabbing the shot and tossing it back. She grimaced slightly at the taste and the slight burn of it going down her throat.

"How did you never have a fake ID?" She asked.

He shrugged. "My brother was in college by the time I was sixteen, and he could get me into the college parties without one."

Aria smirked. "Goody-two-shoes."

Ezra laughed. "And what do you use your fake ID for, Miss Montgomery?"

"I actually haven't used it in a long time." She told him honestly. "Ali had gotten them for us, and she would always take us to the college parties. I haven't used it since she went missing."

Ezra watched as she spaced out for a moment, getting lost in her thoughts again. He gently reached out and pushed her hair out of her face, snapping her out of it. She cleared her throat, quickly changing the subject back to their game.

"Okay. My turn again." She poured a new round of shots. "Never have I ever… sexted anyone."

Ezra groaned, downing another shot. "You're killing me, Aria."

Her mouth dropped open wide as she stared at him in shock. "No! You?"

He nodded, running his hands over his face.

"Oh my God." Aria expressed, laughing. "You need to tell me this story. Now."

Shaking his head, he kept his hand over his eyes as he told her. "I dated this girl in high school, and she liked to talk… inappropriately."

"How inappropriately?"

"…Very."

Aria doubled over in laughter, still in disbelief. "I _never_ would have pictured you doing something like that. Goody-two-shoes strikes back."

Ezra laughed, his cheeks tinted a light pink, but glad to see her smiling. Aria leaned over and pressed her lips to his cheek softly, still giggling.

They continued to play the game for a while; Aria got progressively drunker as the questions rolled by, and due to her tiny size, it was affecting her a lot faster than it was Ezra.

She was lying on her back on the floor, looking up at Ezra and giggling softly to herself at nothing in particular. He grinned back at her, amused.

Ezra pulled the bottle to his lips, taking a long sip. He felt Aria's hand reach up and push his hair back from his forehead. She sat up slowly, moving wobbly into his lap. He placed his hands on her hips to steady her, and she locked her fingers behind his neck.

They stared at each other for a few moments, before Aria shifted in his lap.

"Stop it." She told him.

Ezra looked at her confused. "What?"

"Just stop."

He chuckled at her. "Stop what, baby?"

She leaned forward, her lips merely centimeters away from his. "Being so sexy. I _cannot_ handle it."

Ezra smirked, running his hands up her waist, pulling her closer. "I'm sorry baby, I can't do that."

Aria leaned down and kissed the bottom of neck, before dragging herself up his body until her face became level with his. She moved close enough to brush her lips against his briefly, before pulling the bottle out his hand and taking a sip, smirking.

"Tease." He accused her. He quickly grabbed her around the waist, grinning when squealed with laughter as he began to tickle her waist. Aria laughed loudly, pleading with him to stop.

Ezra did after a few minutes when tears started to roll down her cheeks from laughing so hard, He leaned back, taking the final sip of the vodka. "Looks like we finished it."

"Wh-what?" Aria hiccupped. "When?"

Ezra laughed. "Just now."

She pouted. "But I'm n-not even drunk."

Shaking his head, Ezra placed his hands on either side of hers, hovering over her small frame. "Believe me, you are."

Aria groaned. "Stopppp."

Ezra laughed. "What am I doing, baby?"

"You're just so freaking hot right now." She replied, grabbing the back of his head and pulling his lips quickly to hers.

They both moaned as their lips parted against each others.

Aria pulled him down so his body was flush against hers, sliding her thighs up to rest against his hips. She opened her mouth further, invited him in. Ezra slipped his tongue into her mouth, tasting the alcohol that lingered there. Their tongues fought for dominance, and Aria gave into Ezra, enjoying the feeling of him over her too much to fight for control.

His right hand went up to her head, and he threaded his fingers through her hair while his left hand slipped under skirt, caressing the top of her thigh.

Aria pulled her hands from his hair, moving them down to the hem of his tee-shirt, beginning to push it up his chest.

Ezra felt her hiccup again against his lips, reminding him of how drunk she was.

He sighed, pulling his head back from hers.

Aria pouted. "N-no, come back."

"Aria, you're gone."

She gave him a confused look. "What are you t-talking about? I'm r-right here."

Ezra chuckled at her, touching his finger to her nose. "No, I meant your drunk."

She giggled. "And you're sexy."

He smirked at her. "So you keep saying."

Aria leaned up, running her lips along his jaw line, trying to coax him back down to her. When he refused, she sighed, lying back down.

"Why are you so sc-scared right now?" She asked him.

"I'm not." He looked at her skeptically. "…Are _you _scared right now?"

She quickly nodded her head. "I just w-want you to be o-okay."

Ezra gently pushed her hair back from her face. "I'm fine, baby. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't k-know."

Ezra stayed silent as he watched her. Aria rolled her head to the side, not looking back at him. Her hiccups continued, so he sighed, getting up from the ground.

He held out a hand to help her up as well. She accepted it, trying to get up from the ground. She kept stumbling though, so he leaned down, lifting her up in his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder as he brought her over to the kitchen.

He set her on the counter, grabbing a cup out of one of the cabinets and filling it up with water. Handing it to her, he placed his hands on her hips to keep her steady while she drank.

When she finished, Aria placed the glass carefully on the counter beside her, before leaning into him and resting her forehead against his.

"I love you." She whispered.

Ezra tilted his head up to hers, kissing her softly. "I love you, too."

She nodded. "So much."

"Forever, baby."

Aria smiled, wrapping her legs around his waist before she yawned. Ezra reached his hands under her legs, lifting her up against him again, before bringing her over to the bed.

Plopping down on the mattress, Aria leaned back against it, stretching her limbs out. Ezra pulled the tee-shirt he was wearing over his head, before tossing it to Aria. He unbuttoned his pants, pushing them down his legs, before turning to get into the bed with her.

He laughed as he saw her struggling to get her dress over her head. She sighed and stopped after a few more attempts, before she whimpered slightly. "Help." She told him, her voice muffled by the fabric covering her face.

Ezra snickered, reaching over to pull her dress back down so he could unzip the back. He then pulled it gently over her head and grabbed his shirt, placing it over her head and helping her put her arms through the holes.

The both of the slipped under the covers, and Aria pressed herself up against Ezra. She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him.

"What's your biggest fear?" She asked him quietly.

Ezra furrowed his eyebrows at her random question. He reached up, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Losing you." He whispered to her honestly. "That somehow, something will get in the way of us continuing our relationship."

Aria breathed in a shaky breath as a tear rolled down her cheek. Ezra gently wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.

"We're going to be okay though." He told her. "We've gotten through so much, it's going to take a strong force to ruin what we have."

She nodded, kissing his chest and sniffling.

Ezra ran his fingers through her hair. "What's yours?"

Aria looked up at the ceiling, wiping another tear from her face. "I d-don't know. There are too many." She paused. "Maybe… that I'm going to mess up."

Ezra brushed the back of his hand along her cheek. "Everyone messes up, Aria."

She shook her head. "Not everyone has as much to lose as I do if they mess up, through."

"How do you figure?"

Aria pushed her face into his neck, whimpering. "Everything I do affects everyone around me." She whispered. "If I mess up, someone is going to get hurt."

Ezra looked down at her confused. "What are you talking about, Aria?" He slid his hand up and down her back, trying to calm her. "You shouldn't hold that much responsibility on your shoulders."

Aria sniffled. "I have to."

Ezra shook his head, bewildered at what she was saying. Is this really how she saw everything?

"Is this about –A?" He asked her after a moment. "Did something happen?"

He waited for an answer, but when she sat up and wiped the tears from her face, he realized he wasn't going to get one.

Aria laid back down, turning her head away from him. "I'm tired." She told him, ignoring his question.

"Aria…"

"Mm." She hummed, nuzzling her face into the pillow.

Ezra sighed, shaking his head before slipping up behind her and wrapping his arm around waist. His hand went up to her chest, and her fingers found his, interlocking with them.

It was quiet for a moment, before Ezra spoke up.

"No matter what happens," He whispered to her. "I'll be here for you. I'll always love you, baby."

Aria squeezed his fingers tightly between hers. "I love you, too."

Ezra heard her breathing deepen and steady out, alerting him that she was asleep. He sighed, pressing his head behind hers, allowing sleep to claim him as well.

**Author's Notes: Again, I'm sorry that this was so late. Please review and let me know what you thought. Also, I have come up with an idea for a new story! You might be seeing it around soon. : )**


	10. Carry Me Home Tonight

**Chapter 10**

Ezra awoke the next morning from the sunlight hitting his face. He cursed to himself for a moment for forgetting to close the blinds. There was a slight ache in the back of his head, but nothing that wasn't manageable.

As he eyes slowly opened, he looked down at Aria who had her head tucked into his arm and her hair covering her face. His arm rose from around her waist to push her locks back behind her ear. The movement caused Aria to stir slightly, and she pulled the sheets tightly around her before stilling again.

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead, knowing she was going to have one hell of a headache when she woke up.

With that in mind, he gently untangled himself from her and got out of bed. He pulled on a pair of sweats before walking into the kitchen and grabbing two glasses from a cabinet. As he filled both of them with water, he opened up a bottle of Tylenol, dumping four into his palm. When the glasses were filled, he quickly downed two of the pills, before walking back over to the bed.

As he set a glass and the two other pills onto the nightstand, he heard a quiet groan come from Aria. He looked up as she brought a hand to her forehead and her face twisted into a look of discomfort.

Ezra quickly moved over to the windows and closed the blinds before returning to the side of the bed. She slowly opened up her eyes to look at him.

"Hey, baby." He whispered, his voice barely making noise. "How are you feeling?"

Aria groaned again, burying her face into the pillow underneath her head.

"I feel like shit."

Ezra snorted softly, trying to suppress a grin from filling his face. He climbed into the bed next to her before reaching for the water and medicine.

"Here, take these." He told her.

Aria looked up at the pills in his hand, before slowly sitting up. She grimaced at the pounding that filled her head as she took the Tylenol from him and threw her head back to swallow it.

He took the water from her and placed it back on the table, before opening up his arms for her. She quickly curled herself into him, hiding her face in his neck.

Ezra ran his hand along her hair, trying to help as much as he could until the medicine kicked in. She leaned back a little while later, looking up at him.

"… I barely remember anything that happened last night." She confessed sheepishly.

He smirked at her, nodding his head. "I figured you wouldn't."

She waited for him to explain to her, but he didn't. "Care to fill me in?"

The smile slipped from his face. "Care to fill _me _in on why you think you're going to screw up the lives of everyone around you?"

Aria's eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly, before she slowly turned out of his arms, and buried her face in the pillow on the other side of the bed.

"Never mind." She told him. "I don't want to know."

Ezra sighed. "Aria, what happened?"

"Nothing happened, Ezra."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Obviously something did. You drank until you unable to walk straight or take off your own clothes last night."

Aria felt her cheeks redden from the information, and she was glad he couldn't see her face. "Could you keep it down, please? My head hurts like a bitch."

Ezra ran his hand along his face as he looked down at her. He sighed, knowing what he was about to say could cause a lot of problems between them, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Look, Aria." He said softly to her. "I know I said I wouldn't tell anyone about –A, but if it's going to affect you this badly… I-I don't think I have a choice."

Aria shot up onto her hands. She ignored the pain that filled her head at her quick movements and she stared at him in shock. She felt a small amount a betrayal flow through her.

"I told you not to." She said slowly to him.

"And I haven't. But look at you, Aria! You almost have a heart attack every time your phone rings!"

Aria leaned back from him in offense from his statement, and she felt tears start to build up in her eyes.

"Last night didn't have anything to do with –A!" She yelled at him. "I got into a fight with Mike, and the reason I didn't want to tell you is because I'm probably over exaggerating all of it!"

She knew she wasn't exactly being truthful to him, but she wasn't lying to him either.

Ezra stared at her in shock from her outburst. "That… that still doesn't explain half the things you said to me last night."

Aria slid off of the bed and stripped his tee-shirt off over her head, pulling on her own dress from the floor.

"I was drunk." She told him as she gathered her things together. "I obviously wasn't making any sense."

Ezra stood up from the bed as well as he watched her slip on her shoes. "Aria, don't leave. We need to talk about this."

Aria laughed humorlessly at him. "Why talk? It seems like you already have your mind made up!"

He grabbed her arm as she started to open the door. "Aria. Don't walk away from this."

She looked up at him before shaking her arm free. "I don't have anything else to say to you right now."

Ezra watched as she flung the door open and stepped outside, before slamming it shut behind her. He felt his fist ram into the wall a few moments later, and he mentally kicked himself for screwing things up, wishing he had kept his mouth closed.

xxx

Aria rested her head on the steering wheel of her car as she sat in front of Spencer's house. Tears were rolling down her face as her eyes squeezed shut. She was angry at herself for storming out of the apartment, but she couldn't think straight and she needed to find a way to gather her thoughts.

Part of her knew that he was only saying those things because he loved her, but the other part of her felt highly betrayed.

A soft knock brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Spencer standing outside of the driver's window with a concerned look on her face.

Sobs started to rip through Aria's mouth as Spencer opened the door and pulled her out, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.

Aria pressed her face into her should as she cried, and Spencer brought her into the house and up to her room. Shutting the door behind them, both of the girls went to sit on the chair and stool by the window of their room.

Spencer pulled Aria's face back, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "What happened?" She whispered.

Aria took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before she spoke. "Don't hate me," She started, her voice cracking. "But… I told Ezra about –A."

Spencer's eyes widened. "Today?"

She shook her head. "No, the night when Mona was arrested and they found Maya's body."

Spencer nodded, rubbing her hand up and down Aria's arm. "It's okay, I understand why you did." She smiled softly at her friend. "What happened today?"

Aria's shoulders slumped. "I went over to his place last night," She hesitated. "And… I convinced him to get drunk with me."

Spencer raised her eyebrows, before clearing her throat. She nodded for her to continue.

"I don't remember much of what happened." Aria said honestly. "But apparently I said a lot of things that are making him want to tell someone about what's going on."

Spencer's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but Aria cut her off.

"I've told him before not to say anything, but –A threatened me to keep my place or whatever, and I was freaking out that whoever it is might hurt him, so I screwed up and made it worse." She shook her head, placing it in her hands. "I'm so stupid."

It was quiet for a few minutes in the room, as Spencer gained control of her thoughts and Aria gained control of her breathing.

"Do you think… he'll say something?" Spencer asked after a little while.

Aria shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think so; I think he was just saying that he would so that I would tell him what was going on."

"You're not keeping him updated?" Spencer asked confused.

Aria shook her head. "No. –A told me to stop telling him about it."

Spencer nodded, before taking a deep breath. "You need to go back and talk to him."

"And say what? 'Hey, sorry I freaked out earlier, but whoever has been stalking me for the past year is probably going to hurt you so I can't tell you about them anymore, even though I promised I would.'?" She said sarcastically.

"Something along those lines."

Aria huffed. She was silent for a few moments before she said, "You know, I finally understand how you were able to break up with Toby." She said quietly. "They're all a lot safer without us."

Spencer quickly shook her head. "Breaking up with him was one of the hardest things I've ever done. And it didn't help him as much as I thought it would." She paused for a moment. "Why did you bring it up? …Are you going to break up with Ezra because of this?"

Aria shook her head. "I don't think I would be able to."

Spencer sighed. "Look, he loves you. A lot. It's almost impossible not to see it. I think he's just confused on what he's supposed to do. You've told him that someone is torturing and hurting you, but that he can't do anything about it. It's hard to deal with."

Aria nodded. "I know. I screwed up."

"It's okay. We all do."

xxx

Aria walked into her house a couple of hours later.

She and Spencer had decided to stay inside for most of the day watching movies and eating ice cream. It was incredibly cliché, but it had helped her cheer up a little bit.

As she walked into the kitchen, she found her father sitting at the table, looking at a paper in his hands.

"Hey, dad." She greeted him as she grabbed a carton of orange juice out of the fridge and poured herself a glass.

Byron didn't respond, so Aria turned around to look at him. "Dad?"

He looked up at her, but still didn't say anything. Aria looked over at Ella as she walked into the kitchen, oblivious to what was going on. "Hey sweetie."

"Hi mom…"

Aria lifted the glass to her lips, taking a sip when Byron finally spoke up.

"Are you two sleeping together?" He asked her with a blank expression.

Aria choked on her drink, spitting it back into her glass before continuing to cough. Ella rushed over to her and gently patted her on the back.

"_What?" _Aria asked when she could finally breathe again.

"Are you and Ezra sleeping together?" Byron annunciated each word as if it was its own sentence; like she was a five year old being asked if she took a cookie from the dessert plate.

A blush covered Aria's cheeks as she stared at him in shock. "Why would you even ask that?"

Byron sat back in the chair, throwing the papers in his hand onto the table. Upon closer inspection, Aria could see that they were actually papers; they were pictures. She felt her face drain of color as she saw what they were of.

One picture showed her going into Ezra's apartment the night before, and the other showing her leaving this morning. She was wearing the same clothes in both of them.

Aria's breathing stuttered, but she didn't say anything.

Bryon pushed back from the table and started for the front door. "I'll kill him."

"Wait!" Aria called, rushing after him. "We're not sleeping together!"

Her father turned around to look at her. "Oh really?"

"Yes, really!" She said breathlessly. "I-I… just stayed over there last night."

Byron's face reddened with anger, and Ella gave her a pointed look.

"I thought one of the rules was that you could not sleep over there."

Aria nodded, looking down. "I know, I'm sorry. I just… really needed to see him last night."

Scoffing, Byron walked back into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of scotch. Ella looked at her daughter confused. "Why?"

Shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other, Aria racked her brain for an excuse. "I just had a really bad day."

"What happened?"

_Shit. _"I don't want to talk about it."

Aria's phone beeped in her pocket then, causing her to noticeably jump. She didn't retrieve her phone, and tried to brush her action off by bouncing nervously on her heels.

Ella didn't buy it.

"Aria, look, I really think you need to see Dr. Sullivan again."

"No!" Aria shouted. "I already told you I don't want, or need, to see a therapist."

Her mother sighed. "I know, sweetie. But it doesn't seem like things are getting better."

"I'm fine!" Aria said defensively.

"Really? You're fine?" Ella shot back at her.

"Yes! How many times do I need to say that to people?"

Aria shook her head, annoyed with the situation. She walked over to the chair in the living room and grabbed her purse off of it.

"Where are you going?" Ella asked incredulously.

"Out."

She slammed the door behind her before she took off running. She didn't bother taking her car; she wanted some air. Her chest felt like it was tightening up and her brain was exploding from the amount of thoughts she had jumping around up there. She quickly wiped a tear that had formed before it could fall and alert others of her emotional state.

When she got to the center of the town, she rounded a corner and collided with another person.

"Watch it!" They shouted at her.

Aria recognized the voice, and she took a step back as she looked up and confirmed who it was.

"Learn how to walk, Montgomery." Noel shot at her.

Aria scoffed. "I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not."

He smirked at her. "You will be."

_What the hell? _Aria watched him as he walked around her, before joining a girl sitting at a table outside of a coffee shop. The sunglasses covering her eyes let Aria know it was Jenna.

Her eyebrows raised, surprised that Noel had stayed with the same girl for so long. _Guess he found a good Kleenex. _

The couple looked up at her then, both shooting her a strange look that made her stomach twist. She quickly turned around, and continued down the sidewalk.

She pulled out her phone to check the time and saw the message from earlier. It was a blocked number, and she debated whether or not she should read it right now. Sighing, she decided now was probably better than waiting and worrying over it.

"_Everything's falling apart, huh?_

_Keeping secrets tends to cause that, _

_and I intend to make sure you do._

_~A"_

Aria shut her phone, sliding it back into her pocket. While thinking about the words, part of her was fueled with anger over the fact that –A could just control her like a puppet.

She decided right then that she wasn't about to let them ruin everything that kept her grounded.

xxx

Ezra walked up the stairs to his apartment. He had just bought take out from the Chinese place down the street, and was still frustrated with how things went with Aria earlier. He wanted to talk to her, but he was worried she still didn't want to speak to him, and he didn't want to push her farther than he already had.

He heard knocking as he reached the stop of the stairs, and as he turned the corner, he saw Aria standing in front of his door.

Her head shot up as he stopped walking, and she turned to face him. She tugged nervously at the sleeves of her shirt.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hi." He replied.

They both stood there for a moment, before the silence became too much for both of them.

"I'm sorry." They said at the same time.

"No, I'm sorry." Aria said quickly. "I completely overreacted. I know you were just worried about me, and I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Ezra shook his head. "No, I've been pushing you too far. I should respect it if you don't want to talk to me about something."

Aria stepped closer to him. "You're not pushing me, I'm pushing you. I know that it's hard for you to be left in the dark about what's going on with me. I just feel like everything I do or say backfires." Tears began to fill her eyes. "I'm ruining my relationships with everyone, and the last thing I want is to lose you." She whispered; her voice cracking.

Ezra dropped the bag of take out onto the ground, before reaching out and pulling her into his arms.

"You're not going to lose me." He whispered into her ear. Aria cried into his chest, breaking his heart all over again. "Shhh, it's okay."

Aria shook her head.

"Yes it is." He told her. "Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

Pulling her head back, Aria slowly reached up to push his hair from his forehead. "I love you so much."

Ezra gently wiped away her tears. "I love you, too, baby."

He bent his knees, lowering his lips down to hers. Aria sighed against his lips, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and reaching up on her toes to get closer to him. Ezra slid his arms down her waist and hips to her upper thighs, picking her up so she could wrap her legs around him.

Remembering the take out, Ezra opened the apartment door and kicked the bag in without removing his lips away from hers. He carried her threw the entryway, closing the door behind them before walking over to the bed.

Aria slid her hands into his hair, keeping him close as he settled her onto the mattress. Their kisses set off sparks hot enough to be classified as fireworks, and their soft touches felt like electricity.

Ezra reached behind her to unbutton her dress, and slowly pushed the straps down her shoulders. It fell across her lap, and Aria leaned back against the bed, lifting her hips so he could pull it the rest of the way off of her.

He leaned over her; holding up his weight on his forearms, which lied on either side of her head. Aria's hands snuck up his chest to the top of his shirt, and she quickly began to unbutton it. With each new piece of skin exposed, she placed a small kiss until she couldn't reach anymore. When she finished, she pushed the fabric over his shoulders, and he tugged it off behind his back before throwing it off the bed.

Aria slowly kissed along his chest as she caressed the defined abs on his stomach, sending shudders throughout his body. Bringing her hands down to his pants, she undid the belt from its buckle before toying with the button at the top, smirking at him.

Ezra lowered his head quickly and caught her lips with his, pushing his tongue into her mouth and gaining dominance easily. She moaned into his mouth as he slid his jeans down his legs, kicking them onto the floor.

Breaking away for air, Aria squirmed as Ezra began to place hot, open mouthed kisses down the side of her neck and across her chest, raising bumps along her skin as she shivered.

Aria raked her nails down his back as Ezra brought his lips back up to her neck and bit down gently on the sensitive skin there, before soothing it over with his tongue.

She gasped, arching her back and pressing herself into him. He brought his lips up to hers, hovering over them without kissing her.

"I love you." He whispered breathlessly.

Aria smiled softly against his lips. "I love you, too."

**Author's Notes: Please review and let me know your thoughts! 3 **


	11. And I Foresee The Dark Ahead If I Stay

**Author's Notes: Did you guys see the Season 3 promo? ASDFGHJKL WHAT. It actually looks like I was right about a few things! But not a lot. /: I tried to incorporate a few things from the preview into this chapter, but I'm mostly going to keep going with my own story line. Hope you enjoy! **

**Chapter 11**

"This has gone on long enough. It's time for it to stop."

Ella shook her head furiously, standing up from her seat at the kitchen table. "We're not going to do anything to their relationship."

Byron huffed, throwing his hands in the air. "Why else would she be sleeping over there, Ella? Don't tell me you believe her story."

"Yes, I actually do believe it. Can you really not see how upset our daughter is?" She yelled at him.

Aria's parents had been arguing ever since she walked out an hour ago. Neither of them knew for sure where she was, but both of them had a pretty good guess. They still hadn't reached a decision on how they should act.

Taking a deep breath, Ella started again. "Something has seriously gone wrong in her life that is affecting her immensely. She needs to open up about it, and if it can't be to us, then he's our only option."

Byron laughed in fake amusement. "So we're just going to let him take advantage of her to accomplish that? Let's just send her back to the therapist. She'll have to talk to them eventually."

"She has made it quite clear that she doesn't want to go; we cannot force her. And Aria is a strong headed girl; she can handle herself. I doubt he has ever taken advantage of her in any way. He wouldn't still be here now if he had!"

He scoffed. "Are you really that blind to all of this?"

Ella shook her head quickly in offense. "I don't think I'm the one who needs to open my eyes to the situation."

Byron stood there for a moment in silence, before shaking his head and walking out of the room, leaving his wife to deal with her unclear thoughts.

xxx

Aria sat on Ezra's couch, wondering how she was going to go home. The last thing she wanted to deal with right now was another fight with her parents, and she thought through her chances of getting up to her room without a confrontation. They were pretty slim.

Ezra joined her on the couch, pulling her legs up onto his lap. He threaded the fingers of his left hand through her hair, tilting her head back to look at him. His other hand rest on her knee, rubbing it gently.

"What's going through that beautiful head of yours?" He asked.

Aria sighed. "I fought with my parents before I came here, and now I'm trying to think of how to get into my house again and avoid them at the same time."

Ezra nodded in understanding. "Something tells me that's not very likely."

"I know." Her eyes down casted. "I should probably get going, though."

He brushed a few stands that had fallen back in into her face away, before speaking quietly. "I'm trying my best to drop the subject until you want to talk about it, but I have to say something." He took a deep breath. "You're still safe, Aria."

She looked up at him, chewing on her thumb nail.

"I know you don't believe it, but you're going to be okay. This person can't continue on forever."

A meek smile crossed her lips, mostly for his entertainment.

"I really am sorry I haven't been telling you things. It's just… I keep thinking that maybe if I don't talk about it, it will all go away." She shook her head. "-A wants to ruin everything I have, including my relationships with the ones that mean to most to me."

She leaned towards him, pressing her forehead to his. "But whatever happens, I don't want to lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere." He whispered, before tilting his head until his lips reached hers.

His tongue brushed over her bottom lip, and she parted them slightly, granting him entrance. They both sighed at the feeling of their tongues dancing over one another's, and Aria reached her hands up around his neck. She sat up, bringing one of her legs to the other side of his lap to straddle him.

Her fingers ran up into his hair, tugging his head back as she pushed her lips down hard onto his. Ezra moaned, sliding his hands under her dress; his fingers pulling playfully on the sides of her underwear.

Aria smirked against his lips, shaking her head. He sighed, pulling away and kissing hungrily down the side of her neck. She giggled, gently scratching the back of his head.

"Ezra." She breathed out, tilting her head back to give him more room. "I really need to go."

"Mm." He sucked softly on the hollow at the base of her neck, causing her to moan breathlessly, before licking his way back up to her ear.

"I love you." He whispered, kissing her cheek.

She placed her hands on either side of his face, leaning in and kissing him slowly one last time before getting off his lap. "I love you, too."

Aria grabbing her backpack and headed for the door.

"I'll text you later and let you know how it goes." She called over her shoulder.

"I'll be waiting."

xxx

Aria sat in her last period class, waiting for the bell to ring. She felt like time was literally crawling by.

Last night had gone better than planned. She actually had been able to get up to her room without confrontation with her parents, and when her mother came to check on her later, she had pretended to be sleeping.

She knew it was a bit childish, but she didn't want to fight with them anymore.

The sound of the bell finally filled the classroom, and everyone jumped out of their seats, glad that the day was over.

Aria saw Emily in the hallway on the way to her locker and stopped by. "Hey."

Emily smiled. "Hey, what's up?"

"Avoiding going home." Aria mumbled.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Emily put her binders into her locker and turned to look at her. "Why?"

"I got into an argument with my parents last night. Turns out I'm not doing a very good job hiding how much –A can affect us."

"I know what you mean." Emily replied, nodding. "Hiding secrets from your parents is one of the hardest things to do. Believe me, I know."

Aria smiled softly at her friend.

"We just have to find a way to handle it. We can't risk our parents finding about it; they could get hurt."

Aria nodded, feeling worry fill her again. She was really starting to regret going to Ezra's that night after the mascaraed.

"Well, I was thinking about retracing our steps today anyways. I think we should go back to that motel where –A's lair was. Maybe we can find something there." She told her friend.

Emily nodded. "That's actually a really good idea."

The hallway was almost completely empty; only a few people were still unloading at their lockers, but they were scattering to go outside as quickly as possible to enjoy the rest of the day.

"I'll be right back." Aria told Emily. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom really quickly."

Emily nodded in acknowledgement, stuffing a few of her books into her backpack. "I'll call Spencer and let her know your plan."

"Okay."

Aria turned away from her, walking down the hall and turning into the other. The bathroom was directly on the right, and she pushed the door open, stepping inside.

Walking over the mirror, she smoothed out her hair before scrunching it up a bit to give it some volume. Her makeup seemed to be lasting pretty well after the long day, so she didn't bother fixing it at all.

Letting out a deep breath, she finally turned and stepped into one of the stalls.

As she locked the door, the sound of the bathroom door opening hit her ears. Her brows furrowed, as she thought most of the kids would already be gone. She looked through the crack in the stall, figuring it was Emily, and was about to call her name when she paused.

Through the small break in the door, she could see someone standing, faced away from her, dressed in jeans and a black hoodie. They were fixing the hood up over their head.

Aria's breath caught in her throat, and she took a step backwards, trying not to make a sound. Her hand shot out next to her on the wall to brace herself, and she let out a shaky breath as she began to panic.

She could hear quiet footsteps fill the room and saw black flash across the opening in the door, before it was silent.

Holding her breath, her ears were alert, waiting for the even the slightest noise to come to her. There continued to be no sound in the room, and confusion began to slip over her.

Suddenly a black pair of shoes became visible under the stall door, and a sharp gasp came out of Aria's mouth.

_No._

"Somebody help me!" She shrieked.

The hooded figure kicked the frame of the door, making it rattle furiously on its hinges. Aria cried out in fear, backing up farther into the stall. The mystery person grabbed the top of the door and began to shake it, trying to loosen the lock from its confinement.

Aria panicked, looking around her for a way out. She saw none, and whimpered loudly. She knew there was no other way out but through the door, so she gathered as much courage as she could before unlocking it quickly and ramming herself into it, causing the door to swing back into the person on the other side.

The door and the attacker both moved back, and Aria sprinted as fast as she could to the door, ripping it open and throwing herself out.

Her heels slid on the ground as she rounded the corner, stumbling into the wall, and shoved herself off of it before continuing to run as quickly as she could down the hall.

As she arrived at the next corner, she looked back over her shoulder to see how close they were to her, but she didn't see anything. That didn't stop her from running though. She turned back around to continue, but she ran straight into someone and they wrapped their arms around her tightly.

She screamed, struggling against them, before a familiar voice finally reached her ears.

"Aria?" Emily asked, panicked. "What's going on? What happened?"

Aria breathed in heavily through the tears that had slowly started to flow down her cheeks, and she looked behind her again, seeing no one there.

"-A." She responded breathlessly. "They were in the bathroom with me!"

"What?" Emily yelled. She started down the hall, ignoring Aria's protests for her not to go.

"Stop!" Aria told her, trying to drag her back.

Emily pulled through her grip, walking over the bathroom door. She approached it slowly, moving her hand onto it and pushing softly.

She took a deep breath, before peeking through a small crack she made. She pushed it open further when she saw nothing, until the door was wide open.

Taking a hesitant step inside, she looked around and under the stalls, seeing that the bathroom was empty.

"There's no one in here, Aria." She called back.

Aria shook her head. "No, they were in there, I swear! They were banging on the door and everything!"

Emily was about to turn back out of the restroom, when a piece of paper taped on a stall caught her eye.

She slowly walked towards it, and took it from the door, reading it to herself.

Turning back around, she looked at Aria with wide eyes.

"What is it?" Aria asked carefully.

Emily stretched her arm out, offering the note to her. She cautiously reached out and took it slowly, as if the paper was going to burn her on contact.

Aria turned the note over in her hands, her eyes glancing over the words.

_You don't know how to follow_

_rules, do you?_

_If you can't keep your mouth shut,_

_I'll get your lover to stop asking._

_-A_

She shook her head in disbelief, falling backwards until her back hit the wall. She slid down it, sitting on the ground and bringing her knees up to her chest. More tears fell down her cheeks and she put her head in her hand, shaking it back and forth.

Emily came over and sat down next to Aria, pulling her into her arms.

"Are they talking about Ezra?" She asked.

Aria nodded.

"What does he have to do with anything?"

She sniffled. "I kind of told him about –A."

Emily sighed, resting her head back on the wall. "Aria, I'm not trying to judge you or make this worse, but you just put him in lot of danger by doing that."

"I know." Aria croaked. "I did it the night after we found out Mona was –A. I don't know what I was thinking."

Emily rubbed her arm comfortingly. "What are you going to do?"

Aria shook her head, her eyes squeezing shut and more tears dripping down her face.

"I don't know."

xxx

Beeping filled the room of Spencer's kitchen.

Her parents were gone with Melissa to pick up some new things for the baby and go out for dinner, so the girls had the house to themselves for a few hours.

Spencer walked over to the oven, opening up the door. After pulling on an oven mitt, she reached in and grabbed the pan that held a medium sized pizza, and she placed it on the counter before shutting the door and turning the oven off.

She sat back down, and looked around at the girls while waiting for the meal to cool down.

Aria sat with her arms crossed over the counter, her head resting on them. She hadn't said much since they arrived at Spencer's place, and Emily had explained to Hanna and her what had happened at the school.

Hanna sat to the side of Aria, rubbing her hand up and down her back slowly. Emily sat on the side of the table with her head resting in her hands, and she looked up at Spencer, giving her a sad smile.

It was quiet for a few minutes, until Spencer stood up again. She grabbed four plates and put a piece of pizza on each, settling them in front of each of the girls. They all began to nibble on the food except for Aria, who kept her head down.

"Aria, sweetie." Spencer said gently to her. "Please eat something."

She lifted her head up slowly, before resting it on one of her hands. "I'm not hungry." She said dully.

Spencer sighed. "Can you at least tell us what you're thinking?"

Aria shook her head, her face remaining in the same blank expression. "I don't know what I'm thinking."

All the girls stopped eating, but didn't say anything else. None of them knew what to say; they all knew –A didn't fool around, even when it came to messing with others besides the four of them.

They had hurt Toby, causing Spencer to break up with him, and had _killed_ Maya.

And they all knew -A wasn't one to break their promises.

"Aria –"

"So when are we going to go back to the motel?" Aria asked, changing the subject. She didn't want to talk about it with them anymore; she needed time to gather her own thoughts and think about what she was going to do.

The girls exchanged a look, before Spencer sighed.

"I guess we could go tomorrow?"

"I'm free." Hanna said.

"Me too." Emily agreed.

Aria nodded. "Okay, after school then."

Once again, the room filled with silence. Aria took a deep breath, pressing her hands to the table before standing up.

"I'm gonna go home."

Spencer set her pizza back down onto the plate. "You don't have to go. You can stay over if you want."

Aria shook her head. "Thanks, but I need some alone time to think."

"Well, call us if you need anything." Hanna told her.

Aria smiled slightly at them, nodding her head before stepping out the door.

xxx

Sitting at her desk, a rare moment occurred for Aria.

She couldn't find the words to write.

Her pen hovered above the page of her diary, as it had been for the last ten minutes, with nothing but the date written down at the top.

Sighing, Aria dropped it only the table before leaning back in the chair. She looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head to herself.

Dealing with –A was never something she had gotten used to.

In the beginning when the messages had first started, she had felt more scared than she ever had in her life. She couldn't understand how someone could know so much about her and know every little thing that happened. After a few months, it had become a bit more predictable. When something big happened, she could almost always expect a message from –A.

There had been a lot of times when she would just think, screw it, she should just tell someone about what was going on; her parents or maybe the police. But a secret always got in the way, and she knew it was better to keep her mouth shut.

A few months ago though, she decided that it wasn't –A that was screwing everything up, it was the secrets that she was keeping.

Little by little, she started to become frustrated until she no longer wanted to keep them hidden.

She no longer kept the secrets about her brother when she saw that he was getting hurt and in trouble.

She had come clean with Ezra to her parents about their relationship. But when that didn't work out, she went back to the secrets and to the sneaking around.

Mona getting caught had been a huge weight relieved off of her shoulders. While she had still had the doubts that the blackmailing was really over, when a few months had passed, she started to relax. No more big secrets.

But –A was back now, and they wanted to make sure secrets where kept. They wanted to hold them over her head for as long as possible.

Aria didn't like the fact that she couldn't control her own life. She hated the fact that her future and happiness didn't rest in her hands, but in someone else's. And she didn't even know whose hands they were.

It was hard to accept, and that was one of the main reasons she didn't want to keep the secrets from Ezra. That and it hurt to lie to him. She loved him so much, and she didn't want to be the cause of any pain that was brought to him.

But that's exactly what she had done. She didn't follow –A's rules and continue to play her part in their little game. And now he was in danger.

She didn't know when or how, but –A was going to get to him.

Aria rubbed her hands down her face, closing her eyes. She had no idea what she was supposed to do.

A knock her door interrupted her from her thoughts.

She looked up, seeing her mother standing in the doorway. "Hey."

"Hey."

Ella hesitated for a moment. "Can I come in?"

Aria nodded. "Sure."

Her mother moved into the room and went to sit on her bed. As she sat down, Aria's phone buzzed on the desk. She picked it up, seeing that it was a new text message from Ezra.

Her finger hovered over the _read_ _message _button, before she locked her phone and set it back onto the table.

"Who was that?" Ella asked curiously.

"No one."

Ella gave her a pointed look, before Aria sighed. "It was Ezra."

She nodded. "I'm not here to ban you from talking to him. You can reply if you want to."

Aria didn't make a move to pick up her phone, and Ella looked at her confused.

"Is everything alright between you two?" She asked slowly.

Nodding, Aria pushed her hair back behind her ears. "Yup."

"Did something happen?"

Aria huffed, throwing her head back. "Mom, I just told you everything was fine. Drop it."

Ella stared at her, shaking her head. "Aria, please talk to me. I'm really trying here, to be accepting and understanding. But how can I do that if you won't talk to me?"

Aria closed her eyes. She needed to gain control of herself. It was time to become the liar that she had been for the last year once again. No more messing up.

She stood up from the chair and went to sit next to her mother on the bed, turning to look at her.

"I'm sorry, mom." She told her. "I just get worried talking about him with you. I don't know if I'm going to say or do something that will make you go back to completely hating our relationship."

Ella smiled and reached up to brush Aria's hair back. "Sweetie, I can see how happy he makes you. I don't want you to be afraid to talk to me. I want to understand as much as possible, and support you as best as I can."

Aria smiled back at her and laughed slightly. "You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that."

"Is that what you've been worried about? That I'm going to be angry with you for being with him?"

She shrugged. "You were before. I just don't want to go back to all the arguing."

Ella pulled her daughter in for a hug. "No more arguing, I promise." She pulled back to look at her. "But I can only keep that promise if you're honest with me. I told you that there weren't to be any more sleepovers at his place. I don't want you lying to me, saying you're going to be somewhere that you aren't."

Aria nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I just hate being away from him." She paused for a moment. "Is that weird? That I'm always thinking about him… always wanting to be with him?"

Ella grinned, chuckling softly at her daughter. "No, it's not weird, it's perfectly normal. You're in love."

Aria smiled, biting her lip and looking down. She felt her heart break a little bit on the inside. She _was_ in love with him, yet she was causing him so much pain.

She didn't let her emotions show on her face.

"I love you, mom." She whispered.

Ella smiled. "I know. I love you, too."

She stood up, leaning down to kiss Aria on her forehead. "Now get some sleep, it's getting late."

Aria laughed. "I will."

Ella walked to the door, stepping outside and looking back in. "Night, sweetie."

"Night, mom."

Ella closed the door softly behind her, and the smile slipped from Aria's face immediately. She sighed, getting up from the bed and walking into the bathroom.

She removed the makeup from her face, took off all the jewelry she was wearing and brushed her teeth quickly. When she finished, she walked back into her room, stripping off her clothes. She put them into the hamper in her closet before opening her dresser and pulling out a pair of night shorts, slipping them on.

Walking over to her closet, she flipped through the clothes hanging in it until she found one of the shirts she had stolen from Ezra a few months ago. She took it off its hanger and slipped it over her head.

Back at her desk, she grabbed her journal and her cell phone before settling back on her bed. She stuffed her journal back in its hiding place – behind a picture frame that hung on her wall. There was enough space between the frame and the wall for the journal to slide into, and the under part of the frame prevented it from falling out.

Aria pulled the covers up over her as she settled down onto the mattress and reached over to shut of the light. As darkness filled the room, her hand fumbled around on her nightstand until she found her cellphone charger. She plugged it into her phone, causing it to light up and the message from Ezra to reappear on the screen.

She took a deep breath, before opening it up.

"_Hey baby. Just texting you to_

_say goodnight. I feel like a part of _

_me is missing without you here, _

_falling asleep in my arms._

_I miss you. Come over tomorrow?_

_Night, baby. I love you._

_-Ezra"_

Aria breathed out shakily, and a tear slipped down her face. A part of her was relieved that nothing bad had happened to him yet, but the message mostly made her feel worse.

He loved her, and because of that, he was going to get hurt in some shape or form.

She wiped away the tear from her cheek, locking her phone and putting it on the nightstand without responding.

She didn't know what she was supposed to say. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't know what she was supposed to think.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered softly to the empty room, closing her eyes and trying to fall asleep.

She had a big day tomorrow, and she had a big decision to make.

**Author's Notes: Please review your thoughts!**

**Also, I want to say THANK YOU to all of your wonderful support. I promise I'll make you guys happy. : )**


	12. I Won't Give Up On Us

**Chapter 12**

Hanna's ringtone of Justin Bieber's new song, Boyfriend, once again filled the room of the car, alerting her of a new text message from Caleb.

The girls had left straight from school to go back to the motel, intent on investigating Mona's lair further in hopes of finding new clues. The ride had been silent for the most part, except for Hanna's phone which was constantly playing the new hit single.

Spencer threw her head back against the head rest of the seat but kept her eyes on the road. "Ugh, Hanna, turn it off already!"

"No, I'm texting Caleb!" She said in her defense.

"Not the phone, the ringtone! I cannot listen to that song anymore." Spencer told her, rolling her eyes.

Hanna huffed, but slid down the switch on the side of the phone, putting it on vibrate. "Don't hate on the Biebs."

Aria smirked in the passenger seat, looking out the window at the trees flying by. They were driving down the dirt road that led to the motel, and it was almost visible in the distance. Emily leaned between the two front seats, looking between the two girls.

"So how is this going to go down?" She asked.

"We need to hurry when we get there." Spencer replied. "I still have the key from when Mona and I came here before, and we don't want the creep owner to catch us going in there."

Emily nodded, leaning back against her seat again when she noticed they were pulling into the driveway. Spencer parked in front of the second room and popped the trunk quickly so they could load anything in. "Come on, let's go."

All girls jumped out of the car, leaving their doors open as the followed Spencer to the door. She twisted the key in the lock, before taking a deep breath. "I'm warning you, it's creepy." She said to the other girls, before pushing the door open.

Three gasps came from behind her as the room was revealed. They all slowly stepped into it, looking around.

"Oh my God." Hanna whispered.

The three girls took in all the pictures of them that covered each wall of the room, the newspapers covering Ali's death and the reports on her case, the creepy costume in the corner from Noel's Halloween party, right down the shopping bags that still rested on the table that held Mona's retail sweaters she had bought.

"What the hell?" Aria said in disbelief as she traveled around the room, looking at each of the pictures. Her breath caught in her thought when she stopped in front of ones of her and Ezra. She felt her heart squeeze as she looked at them. They were photos of some of her most favorite moments with him, and she felt her heart break a little over the fact that Mona, of all people, had been watching them. It made them feel less personal and private.

"I can't believe she did this." Hanna whispered, shaking her head as she looked through copies of the police reports on the suspicion of the girls.

"Wait." Spencer said suddenly.

Aria turned around, as did Hanna, and Emily looked up from one of Ali's journals that she held in her hands. They all looked over at Spencer who was turned to look outside. "Did you guys hear that?"

Aria furrowed her eyebrows. "Hear what?"

They all jumped when a loud bang came from outside, causing all of them to rush together.

"That." Spencer whispered. "Come on."

The girls ran outside and spread out, looking around the deserted motel. "I don't see anything." Hanna called.

Aria shook her head. "Me neither."

"Guys!" Emily yelled, looking at the car in fear. The other three rushed over to her in concern.

"What is it?" Spencer asked.

Emily pointed into the trunk of the car. "Look."

The girls turned their heads, gasping as they looked into the back of the car. Scattered along the floor of the car were dolls, but they had been torn apart, limb by limb. Counting heads, Aria realized there were four; one representing each of them.

They all gazed around them, looking for a sign that –A was still there. The sound of their cell phones going off stopped them though, and they all gave each other a look. Pulling out their phones, each of the girls opened the message and gasped again slightly.

"Mona played with dolls," Aria read out loud, her voice cracking. "I play with body parts."

"Game on." They all finished together. "-A."

The girls gave each other a worried look, before deciding to leave. They were all too freaked out to stay any longer. Spencer and Aria unloaded the parts from the trunk into the hotel room and locked it up before they left.

xxx

**One Week Later**

xxx

Ezra sat at one of the booths at a fundraiser Rosewood was holding, staring out at the rain cascading down the windows with his head resting in his palm. It was late in the day, and he was tired from the draining week he had.

He knew something was wrong. Aria hadn't spoken or come to see him once for the past eight days, and she was ignoring his calls and text messages. He missed her immensely and wanted to talk to her about what was going on, but she was avoiding him like a plague.

Ella had invited him to come to the fundraiser and help her out in the booth where she was selling pieces of her artwork. She didn't know that her daughter and him weren't talking, so she thought it would be a good idea to spend some more time with him.

Ezra had accepted the offer in hopes that Aria had come too, but he hadn't seen her all night. He sighed, bummed out.

"You okay over there?" Ella asked him.

He lifted his head from his hand and smiled at her softly. "Just tired."

"Ah." She replied, handing change to the most recent buyer and wishing them a good night. She looked over at Ezra afterwards, seeing him scan the crowd. "Looking for Aria?"

Ezra's eyes jumped to hers again, and he nodded. "Is she here?"

"She should be. I haven't seen her though."

Ezra sighed again, before moving to organize some of the paintings. "You're very talented." He commented after a moment.

Ella smiled. "Thank you."

She looked over at the next booth, her eye catching on her daughter looking over the hand-made necklaces there. "Oh, there she is." Ella told Ezra.

"Aria?" She called.

Aria looked up at the sound of her name, and her eyes passed over her mother to Ezra, locking on his. They widened slightly, and she quickly turned and started to walk away, trying to act like she hadn't seen him.

Ella watched her, confused, and turned to Ezra who huffed. He apologized and excused himself quietly before chasing after Aria.

Ella watched as Aria walked out of the building into the rain and Ezra followed shortly behind her. She rose out of her seat to follow also, before sitting back down after a moment. She sighed. If there was something going on, she should let them handle it without interfering.

Aria didn't turn around and began to run when she got outside, trying to reach her car before he got to her. Ezra chased after her, and when he was closer to her, he called out, trying to get her to stop. "Hey!"

Aria reached her car and pulled eagerly on the door handle, only to find it was locked. She panicked and hurriedly began to dig through her bag to find the keys, but she wasn't fast enough.

Ezra grabbed her arm, turning her around to look at him. "What the hell is going on?" He asked breathlessly.

His eyes ran down her body, drinking in her appearance after not seeing her for over a week. She was wearing a black dress that fit her snuggly around her waist and chest, and then flowed out over her hips until it reached her mid-thigh. It clung to her body from the wetness of the rain. A pair of dark purple heels were the only source of color that accessorized her look. The dress had a sweetheart neckline that his eyes caught on for a moment, before they snapped back up to hers.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she stood there looking like a fish out of water and her eyes down casted away from his, looking at his own clothes that stuck to his body.

"What do you mean?" She asked after a moment when he continued to give her a look that demanded an answer.

He shook his head, ignoring the rain that dripped from his hair down his face. "Don't give me that crap, Aria. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Aria looked up at him, and her eyes were rimmed with tears that she refused to let fall. "I- I just think it's better this way."

Ezra stared at her in disbelief, wondering how they had gotten to where they were once again in their relationship. He shook his head again, locking his jaw.

"So we're back to this?" He questioned her. "We're back to you avoiding me and acting like you're the only person in this relationship that gets a say on how things work out?" He huffed. "Will you please stop acting like a child and talk to me like you actually give a shit about us?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ezra regretted them. He knew he was taking things overboard, but he was pissed and tired of her hiding from him.

Aria's mouth parted at his words, and she felt the tears begin to fall from her eyes. "Asshole." She spat, quickly turning away from him and trying to get into her car again.

Ezra grabbed her hips, spinning her around once again and pressing her back against the car door. She shivered as the cold metal touched her soaked body, but he placed his hands on either side of her head, preventing her from escaping him.

"Stop it." He told her sternly, before his voice became gentler when her bottom lip started to tremble a bit as she looked back at him.

"Please, baby." He whispered, but still spoke loudly enough so she could hear him over the sound of the rain bouncing off of the pavement and roof of the car. "Stop running away from this. Talk to me."

He watched the droplets of the rain mix with the tears pouring down her cheeks and how she crossed her arms over her chest before exhaling a shaky breath.

"You don't understand." She told him after a moment.

"Then help me to."

Aria huffed at him in disbelief. "How?" She cried. "How am I supposed to explain to you any of this? How terrible it is to know that no matter what you do, someone gets hurt, whether it's another person or yourself? How I have to watch you, and Mike, and my mom and dad, and _everyone _hurt, but know that I can't do anything about it because I'm the one who caused it?"

She took in a deep breath, shaking her head. "Too many people are getting hurt, which is why you and I will never be able to make this work out well in the end."

Ezra looked at her, stunned. He felt his heart break hearing her say the last part out loud. He took a step closer to her, until their bodies were almost touching.

"If you feel like you and I will never work out, then that's… heartbreaking. But if you honestly feel us beginning apart is best, then I'll respect your choice." He whispered to her. "But don't base your opinion on what you think is best for me, because you obviously have no idea what that is.

Our relationship is never easy, Aria. There's almost always something in the way, or someone who doesn't approve of it. It might not get easier for a long time, but I know that I can get through that, because I'm willing to do it for you."

Aria hiccupped slightly, trying to hold in her emotions as much as possible. "I've only made one mistake throughout our relationship, and meeting you was not it, Aria." He told her. "It was any time I ever thought we'd be better off without each other. I know that was the biggest mistake I've ever made because it's the most pain I've ever felt. I can survive everything else, but losing you or staying away from you kills me and tears me up inside. And I know that if it happened permanently, I would not be able to make it through."

A sob ripped past Aria's mouth, and Ezra brought his hands to cup her face and threaded his fingers through her wet hair.

"The best thing for me is being with you, Aria." He murmured, resting his forehead against hers. "I love you so much."

Aria shook her head. "You're wrong."

"No, I'm not. And I know you love me, too." Ezra replied strongly.

"I do." Sniffling, she reached up and grabbed his wrists, pulling his hands from her face. "Which is why I need to let you go."

Ezra gasped slightly, taken back that she was still stuck on her reasoning. He felt her push him back a bit and step away from her position against the car.

Aria lifted her hand to brush back the hair that was sticking to his forehead. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, before turning and walking over to the street, making her way down it. Her hand covered her mouth to stop the sobs from cutting through her and she stumbled along the road.

Ezra watched her, still frozen in spot. He quickly snapped out of it though when the voice in the back of his head started yelling at him.

_Stop letting her walk away from you._

He exhaled heavily, before sprinting to catch up to her again. He reached her soaked form, grabbing her hand in his and pulling her back against him. Aria gasped in surprise, looking up at him again.

"There's only one flaw in your plan." Ezra informed her. She opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off by pressing his lips to hers.

Aria tensed for a moment, trying to resist, before her fight gave out and she collapsed against him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, running her fingers through his soaked hair as she kissed him back.

Ezra's hands ran across her back, pressing her body so it was flushed with his as he leaned over her. Aria arched her back, giving into him completely.

He kissed her hungrily, pushing his tongue through her lips when they parted against his, causing her to moan into his mouth. He moved his hands over her body, feeling her curves perfectly due to her dress clinging to her from the rain. They were both thoroughly soaked, and goose bumps rose along Aria's skin from the little cover she hand from the cold.

The two parted after a moment, gasping in as much air as possible. Ezra cupped her face in his hands again, brushing his thumbs along her wet cheeks.

"_I _can't let _you_ go." He finished breathlessly.

Aria cried softly before a sob let her mouth again. She slid her hands down his chest before wrapping them around his waist, resting her head on his chest. Ezra hugged her tightly in his arms, pressing his lips to her hair.

Chattering began to sound after a few minutes, and Ezra looked down to see it was Aria's teeth that were making the noise. She was hugging his as strongly as she could, trying to get as much heat from him as possible.

"Come on." He whispered to her, walking her back into the parking lot. She didn't let go of him, and he kept one arm around her protectively.

Light spilled across the dark pavement, and Ezra looked up to see Ella standing in the doorway of the fundraiser. She watched them with a concerned look on her face, before noticing they were heading towards Ezra's car instead of the building. She gave him a slight nod, allowing him to take her wherever he was planning. He nodded back in thanks, before opening the passenger door to his small silver car and helping Aria slide in.

He leaned over her and grabbed the seatbelt, pulling it around her to buckle her in. She reached her hand up to touch his cheek, turning his head to kiss him gently before he pulled back. Ezra closed the door before running around to the driver's side and getting in.

Turning on the engine, Ezra put the heat on full blast, directing most of the air towards Aria. He pulled into the main road, turning in the opposite direction than the way his apartment was.

Aria furrowed her eyebrows, looking over at him. "Where are we going?" She asked quietly.

Ezra looked over at her sad face and moved his hand into her lap, squeezing her thigh softly before turning to the road. "You'll see."

xxx

Twenty minutes later, Ezra pulled up along a walkway a little distance out of town. He turned to look at her, saying, "We're gonna need to run a bit."

Aria looked out the windshield. "But it's still raining."

He smirked. "We're already soaked, what's a little more rain going to do?"

Getting out of the car, Ezra moved to her side and opened the door, holding out his hand for her. Aria shook her head but smiled a little, placing her hand in his and stepped out of the car along with him. They moved under the side of the building out of the rain first.

"Ready?" Ezra asked.

Aria lifted each of her feet, taking off her heels and holding them in her free hand, looking up at him at her shorter height. "Let's go."

The two took off down the sidewalk, Ezra guiding her to their destination. Aria squealed as they reached a corner and he pulled her to the side, before she laughed and continued running with her hand in his. He looked back at her and smiled at the sound.

Their feet eventually began to hit grass and they slowed down to a walk. Aria looked around, confused as to what she was supposed to be seeing. There was nothing but open space that was cut off by a wall lining the area on the far side. She could hear soft music coming from the distance, though.

Ezra pulled her towards the wall. When they reached it, he lifted her up onto a high step that would allow her to see clearly over the tower before standing up behind her.

Aria gasped as she looked down over the wall. They were up on a cliff which she hadn't been aware of. Below her, she could see a large stage where an orchestra was playing a familiar tune that she couldn't put her finger on. There were stringed lighted surrounded it, illuminating the performers and instruments.

Behind that, she could see the line of buildings further into the distances that were part of Philly. The lights of the city twinkled from the different signs and late night activities going on. Between the city and the orchestra was a wide pond with a small island in the middle that had Hawaiian lights scattered everywhere.

"This is beautiful." She whispered softly.

Ezra pulled her wet tendrils of hair away from her face and chest to fall down her back. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his face into her neck as she rested her chin on her arms, folded over the side of the wall. "I thought you'd like it."

The couple stood there for a little while in the rain, listening to the heavenly sound of the late night band playing below them.

"I'm sorry." Aria whispered after a moment. "I shouldn't have done or said what I did earlier."

"I am, too. I didn't mean any of the rude things I said." Ezra replied, kissing her shoulder.

Aria took in a shaky breath before turning to look at him. "I don't know what's happening to me, Ezra. I can't think straight anymore."

He tightened his arms around her. "It's okay, baby."

She shook her head. "No, it's not."

Ezra didn't reply. He watched as she rested her head in her hands. "I think you and I need a break from everything else." He told her after a moment.

Aria looked up at him, intrigued.

"My brother is coming into town with my nephew this weekend, and my parents are coming a little while after. They all want to meet you." He explained.

"You want me to meet your family?" Aria's voice cracked as she looked at him with wide eyes.

He nodded. "Of course. As long as you're okay with that."

She thought for a minute. "Do they… do they know that I was your student?"

Ezra sighed, dropping his head. "… Not exactly."

Aria lifted her eyebrow.

"They know that I'm seeing someone and that there have been complications with our relationship. That's what I told them when I went up to New York to see them or when they've asked about it. They know your name and that you have a lot of the same interests as me. That's about it." Ezra told her.

Nodding, Aria looked back at the orchestra quickly before her gaze returned to his over her shoulder. "I'd love to meet them." She smiled.

Ezra grinned, lowering his lips to meet hers for a slow kiss. They pulled away and rested their heads together for a moment until Aria started giggling. "Maybe we should get out of the rain."

Laughing, Ezra agreed with her, helping her down from the step. The two sprinted back to the car, and he drove her home.

They sat outside of her house in the heat of the car. Ezra sighed in relief when he noticed lights in the house were on; he didn't want her to be home alone.

He reached over the center counsel and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Are we okay?" He asked.

Aria sighed, leaning over to kiss him chastely before nodding. "What time is your brother getting in tomorrow?"

"Around one." Ezra replied.

She smiled. "I'll see you then."

Ezra nodded, leaning forward to capture her lips again. Aria hummed as her tongue met his and they tangled slowly. "I love you." He murmured as they parted shortly after.

"I love you, too." She whispered against her lips. "Text me."

Ezra told her that he would as she got out of the car and watched to make sure she made it to the front door okay. He pulled out his phone as he drove home, texting his brother to confirm he was still coming and sending a quick text to Aria.

When he got home, he collapsed onto his couch, sighing as he thought. He was going to make Aria happy again, that he was sure of. But how?

He was starting to become incredibly worried about her. She was losing touch with herself, and he didn't know how much more she could take.

He closed his eyes, trying to think of what he should do, but sleep claimed him before he decided on anything.

**Author's Notes: This was more of a filler chapter to prepare for the next one, which should be up soon, I promise. Sorry for the wait. Please review!**


	13. Into The Beautiful Light With You

**Chapter 13**

Aria bounced nervously on the couch. Her bottom lip was being tortured between her teeth and she strung her hands together from her haywire nerves. The cushions jostled from her movements, and Ezra looked over at her sympathetically.

He scooted towards her and placed his hand behind her neck, bringing her forehead to rest against his.

"Baby, please calm down. Everything's going to go fine." He told her, rubbing his hand up and down her leg.

Aria nodded but didn't stop bouncing. "I'm just… really nervous."

"I know," Ezra sighed. He knew what she was feeling. Before her parents knew about their relationship, he was constantly nervous whenever he was meeting with them. Even though they hadn't known he was in love with her daughter, it only made him want them to like him more. "But you don't need to be. They'll love you."

Aria huffed. "How do you know?"

He smirked. "Because there's nothing not to like."

His hand brushed further up her leg, under the skirt of her dress. "You're smart." he murmured, moving his lips down her neck. "And witty." She moaned slightly as he sucked softly on the sensitive spot behind her ear and teased her inner thigh. "And beautiful."

The hand around her neck moved to her shoulder, and he gently pushed her backwards until she was lying across the cushions of the couch. Ezra moved between her legs, hovering over her. She reached up and wrapped her hands his neck, pulling him down to her. He smiled, pressing his lips against hers.

Aria ran her fingers into his dark curls, holding him against her. His tongue touched her lip, requesting entrance which she eagerly granted him. Their tongues tangled together in their familiar dance for dominance.

She gasped when his hands touched her hips underneath the fabric of her dress. He moved his lips from hers, letting her get the breath she needed. His mouth traveled down her throat and across her chest, and she moaned breathlessly when he began to place open mouth kisses along the skin above the top of her dress.

"Ezra," She whispered breathlessly. "Your brother's going to be here in a few minutes."

He hummed, continuing to kiss along her skin, raising goose bumps.

A knock on the door caused Ezra's head to snap up and Aria to sit up quickly. They looked at each other for a small moment before they both stood up.

Aria smoothed out her hair and dress as Ezra made his way to the door, but she stopped him. Reaching up, she brushed her thumb over the corner of his mouth and bottom lip, wiping away to lipstick that had transferred from her there. He smirked at her when she finished, before continuing to move to open the door.

Ezra pulled the door open, and a smile spread across his face at the sight of his brother standing on the other side with his nephew propped up on his hip. The toddler squealed and reached out for his uncle, who gladly accepted him into his arms.

"Hey, buddy!" He greeted the child, hugging him tightly. He looked up at his brother, who stepped into the apartment.

"Hello, brother." The man said sarcastically, giving him a wave as if to declare his presence as he set a bag down next to the chair in the living room.

Ezra snorted. "Hi, Paul."

Paul looked around the apartment, his eyes landing on Aria who was shifting nervously on her toes. He smirked, looking her up and down, causing her to blush. "Why hello to you, too."

Aria cleared her throat, giggling when Ezra punched his brother in the arm. "Hi." She greeted. "I'm Aria."

"Ah, so you're the famous Aria who my brother has become infatuated with." Paul grinned.

"That would be me." She smiled and replied as Ezra rolled his eyes.

Paul shook Ezra off of him and took a step forward. He held out his hand for Aria. She accepted his handshake and he lifted her hand to his mouth and gave it a small kiss, causing her to blush again. "Well I'm Paul; the cooler, better, more attractive brother."

Aria raised her eyebrows and looked him over, taking in his appearance. Her eyes widened a bit at the remarkable resemblance he had with Ezra. He was wearing a dark pair of jeans with black shoes, and a maroon tee-shirt that showed off his muscular chest. He had the same color hair as Ezra, except his didn't have as much curls and it sat much more neatly on his head. Their eyes were identical; shocking orbs of ocean blue. The same boyish grin was spread across his face, and he had a bit of a sharper jawline than Ezra that was covered in unshaven stubble.

Her eyes caught sight of Ezra shaking his head behind Paul.

"Also known as the empty headed, half-assed brother of the family." He coughed.

Paul looked at him. "Hey, watch the language around the kid. I don't want to end up on the couch again anytime soon."

Ezra laughed, stepping forward towards the two. He held up the toddler in his arms towards Aria.

"Aria, this is Liam. Liam, Aria." He introduced softly.

Liam lifted his head from his uncle's neck, looking at Aria curiously. She was once again shocked by the resemblance between all of them. The boy definitely had traits that he had gotten from his mother, like the soft jaw line and brownish colored hair that was missing all curls, but he also had the beautiful blue eyes and famous Fitz grin.

She smiled softly at him, waving and saying hi. He slowly waved back, before hiding in the crook of Ezra's neck again.

Aria laughed, and Paul started to walk into the kitchen. "Mind if we have some late lunch, Ez? Liam and I didn't get to have any."

Ezra reached out his free hand towards Aria. She slipped her small one into his, their fingers intertwining as he led her into the kitchen as well. "Of course." He replied, looking down at his nephew. "You hungry, buddy?"

He nodded vigorously, causing Ezra to chuckle. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Mac n' Ceese!" Liam shouted.

Ezra nodded. "That sounds good. You know, Aria makes really good mac and cheese. The best in the world."

Liam's head snapped towards her, his eyes wide. "Weally? Tan you mate me some?"

She nodded, smiling largely. "Of course." She gave Ezra a pointed look. "As long as your uncle decided to keep his fridge stocked since he's been back."

"Funny." Ezra said, rolling his eyes. "There should be the ingredients you need."

Aria giggled, kissing his cheek before going over to the cabinets and taking out what she would need to cook the meal. Paul opened the fridge and took a beer out, before turning back to Ezra who put Liam on one of the stools.

"So brother, how's life been treating you?" He asked, popping the top off the beer.

Ezra looked over at Aria and smiled. "I'd say pretty well." He walked up behind her, helping her open the lid of juice he had bought for Liam which she was struggling with. She glanced up at him in thanks, and he kissed her lips chastely.

Liam threw his tiny hands over his eyes and made a face. "Ew!"

Aria laughed, and Ezra moved over to Liam. He bent over him and kissed all over his face, causing the toddler to squeal and giggle, struggling to get out of his uncle's hold.

Paul chuckled, before growing serious. "Ezra man, can you come grab something out of the car with me?"

Ezra looked up at him, confused. Paul gave him a stern look, and Ezra nodded, whispering to Aria that he'd be right back.

Paul walked over to Liam, rubbing his head. "You okay staying here for a few minutes, bud?"

Liam nodded anxiously, keeping his eyes locked on Aria. Paul grinned and shook his head.

"He's a bit of a copycat." He told Aria. "Good luck."

Aria laughed. "Okay, thanks."

Paul nodded, before walking out of the apartment with Ezra.

xxx

"What's up, man?" Ezra asked, leaning against the hood of his brother's truck.

Paul sat down on the second step that led up to the apartment building, looking up at him. "You talk to mom or dad, yet?"

He shook his head. "Not since last week."

"Dad's not coming."

Ezra's head fell back in shock. "What?"

"Yeah," Paul sighed. "He said he was only coming if he could bring that girlfriend of his, so mom told him to not bother."

Running his hand over his face, Ezra scoffed. "Why can't they just get along for a few days? Is it really that hard to do?"

"I don't know what goes on in their heads, Ez."

Ezra threw his hands up. "If I had kids, I think I could manage to behave myself for a few days for them."

Paul stood up, walking over to his brother and leaning against the truck next to him. He brought his hand up to pat him on the back. "I know."

Ezra sighed again. "I wanted them to meet her. Both of them."

Grinning, Paul laughed a bit to himself. "She's hot, dude. You did good."

Ezra half-heartedly slapped his arm, but a small smile spread across face. "Stay off of my girl."

Paul chuckled loudly. "No problem." He paused for a moment. "You know, she seems… and looks, a hell of a lot younger than you. Which is surprising, seeing as how you're only twenty-four."

Ezra nodded, looking down nervously and reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. "I gotta tell you something, man."

Snorting, Paul looked at him apprehensively. "What, is she sixteen?"

"No."

Paul sighed. "Well, good. Dating someone who's in college isn't that big of a deal –"

"She's seventeen."

His eyebrows rose slowly. "Seventeen?"

Ezra swallowed hard, and nodded. "There's more."

Paul ignored him for a second, lost in his own thoughts. "But I thought you said you've been dating her for a year. Which means she was sixteen when you met her, and that she's still in high school. You first job was at Rosewood Day…"

Suddenly his eyes grew wide with realization. "Is she the reason you transferred to Hollis?"

Ezra nodded again.

"You dated your student?" Paul asked quietly. "Like for real?"

"Yes."

"Holy shit."

Ezra laughed slightly. "My exact reaction when I found out."

"When you found out?"

"I met her before school started." Ezra explained. "I assumed she was older than she was."

Paul nodded, processing the information for a moment. "I don't know whether I should congratulate you for having the balls to go through with it, or kick the crap out of you for being so stupid."

Ezra chuckled. "I know."

"This relationship that you have now with her… it's real, right?" Paul asked hesitantly.

"I'm in love with her." Ezra confirmed.

Paul nodded. "Okay then. Good."

"Don't tell mom, okay? She needs to hear it from me." Ezra told him.

Laughing, his brother patted him sympathetically on the back. "Don't worry, that one's all for you."

Ezra rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

A mischievous grin spread across Paul's face. "So have you two done it yet?"

Clearing his throat, Ezra popped off of the car, heading back up the stairs. "I'm leaving now."

Laughter traveled from behind him. "Good job, little brother. Good job."

xxx

Aria poured the apple juice into a glass, before turning around and setting it in front of Liam. "Here you go."

"Tanks." He whispered, but didn't touch the glass.

Aria could feel his eyes on her while she stirred the noodles in the pot on the stove. She put the spoon down, going over to take a seat next to him.

"Aren't you thirsty?" She asked, noticing that he still hadn't touched the juice.

He titled his head to the side. "Awe you?"

Aria furrowed her eyebrows, before she remembered what Paul had said about him being in a copycat stage. She nodded, getting up and grabbing another glass out of the cabinet. She poured herself her own glass of apple juice before sitting next to him again.

Liam watched as she lifted the cup up to her mouth, and he did the same. Aria took a few sips of it, before placing it back onto the table, noticing Liam following each of her steps. She grinned, shaking her head.

"So, how old are you, Liam?" She asked.

He held up three fingers, smiling proudly.

Aria smiled and gasped a bit. "Three? Wow."

Liam nodded, setting his glass down. "How old awe you?"

"I'm seventeen." Aria told him.

"Tat's old."

She giggled. "Well I'm glad you think so." She said playfully.

Liam smiled, looking at her curiously for a minute. He reached out, touching her earring softly. "I wike teese."

"Thank you." Aria smiled at him, before standing up to check on the food. It was finished boiling, so she turned off the stove and slid the pot onto the counter. She dumped the water out of the noodles before lifting the bowl of melted cheese over the pot, pouring it slowly into the noodles as she stirred it in. When she finished, she grabbed four plates out of the cabinet, in case Ezra or Paul wanted some when they came back up.

She made two plates full and grabbed two forks, before turning back to the table and placing one in front of Liam and sitting in her seat again with her own.

Aria watched anxiously as Liam tried to poke some of the noodles with the fork, but they kept sliding out from underneath it. He looked up at her cutely. "Tan you 'elp me?"

She nodded. "Of course."

She filled the fork up with a decent amount of noodles, before bringing it up to her lips and blowing on it softly. Then, she held it up to his mouth, watching as he took the bite.

Liam's eyes widened and a large smile filled his face. Aria smiled, noticing again that boyish smile Ezra had.

"Tis is so good!" He exclaimed, opening his mouth for another bite.

Aria laughed, feeling her chest fill up over the fact he liked her cooking. She brought another forkful to his mouth which he swallowed down quickly.

When she went to give him another bite, he paused, before shying away from the fork. Aria giggled, leaning back to take eat some of her own meal, causing Liam to eat his next mouthful.

The front door opened, and Ezra and Paul walked in. Paul laughed at the sight of Aria feeding his son, completely amused by the situation.

"I see he's got you wrapped around his little finger already." He commented.

Aria nodded. "He's adorable."

"Well he is my kid." Paul smirked.

Ezra rolled his eyes at the statement. The sound of Aria's phone going off filled the room, and she excused herself to go get it in the living room. Ezra looked at her nervously, but decided not to comment on it.

Liam watched her leave, before quickly picking up the fork and taking another bite of the mac and cheese. Ezra chuckled at him in disbelief, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "You're a smart kid, buddy."

The toddler grinned at him, putting the fork down before Aria caught him as she walked back into the room. She returned to her seat and continued to feed him while the brother's watched on in amusement.

They both made themselves their own plates of the noodles, sitting in the other two stools around the counter; Ezra next to Aria, Paul on the other side of Liam.

"This is really good." Paul told Aria.

She smiled. "Thank you. Someone's gotta know how to cook in this house."

"Apartment." He corrected her, causing her to giggle.

Ezra shook his head. "I believe you two are guests in this apartment right now."

Aria giggled and turned to him. "Aw, poor thing."

He tossed his napkin at her, and she laughed, flinging it back at him, continuing to feed Liam.

"So, Aria." Paul started, finishing up his plate. "What did you do to make my brother such a mush? I've never seen him actually keep his space clean before, especially when he lived with me."

She grinned. "Well it probably has something to do with the fact that I look a hell of a lot better in a dress than you."

He laughed. "Well I'm not arguing with you on that one." They were interrupted again at the sound of a phone ringing; this time it was Paul's. He looked at the ID before pushing back from the table. "Excuse me, but the wife is calling." He smiled, before moving into the living room.

Aria stood up from the table as well, grabbing Paul's plate along with her own and bringing it over them over to the sink. Ezra brought his own over; leaning against the counter next to her while she washed them.

"You've got one less parent to worry about meeting." He whispered to her.

She looked up at him, confused. "What?"

He sighed. "My father isn't coming. He can't seem to get along with my mother, and they don't want to be in the same room as one another."

Aria pouted. "I'm sorry." She reached up on her toes to press her lips gently to his.

"It's fine." He told her. "I guess it's better than having them both here and arguing."

She nodded. "I know what you mean."

Ezra looked up over her shoulder and laughed loudly at the sight in front of him. "Liam, buddy, I know Aria's cooking is delicious, but remember your manners!"

Aria turned around and began to laugh with him. The toddler was still sitting in the seat with the plate in his small hands, holding it up to his face so he could lick it completely clean from all the leftover cheese sauce. He giggled when he saw the two of them staring at him and put the plate down to reveal his cheese covered face.

Aria put down the plate in her hands and walked over to him, picking him up from the chair. "You're orange!"

Liam rested on her hip and wrapped his arms tightly around her neck as he continued to laugh. She brought him back over to the counter by the sink and set him down on top of it. Wetting a paper towel, she gently wiped off his face before taking each of his hands in hers and cleaning those off as well. When she was done, she tossed the paper towel into the trash can.

Lifting up his arms, Liam asked silently to be picked up again. Aria complied, bringing him to sit on her hip. He reached his hand up to play with her earrings again, toying with the feathers slightly.

Ezra smiled down at them, enjoying the sight. Aria returned the gaze and smiled back at him before taking his hand in hers and walking into the living room. Paul had just finished his call, and sat down in the chair while Aria and Ezra sat down onto the couch. Liam climbed down and went over to the bag Paul had brought in earlier and dug through it, pulling out a coloring book and a box of colored pencils.

He walked back over to couch and Aria helped him back up, smiling as he took a seat in her lap rather than the cushion next to her.

"Wanna colla?" He asked her with big eyes.

She nodded her head. "Absolutely."

He opened the book to a random page and opened up the box of pencils, giving one to Aria taking another one for himself, before the two of them started to fill in the elephant on the page.

"Looks like you're getting replaced there, brother." Paul said, grinning.

Aria giggled while Ezra faked mock hurt. He learned over and tickled Liam's neck, causing him to squeal again. "Don't be stealing my girl, mister."

Paul laughed, shaking his head. "So Aria, my brother tells me you're seventeen."

Aria's breath caught in her throat and she looked over at Ezra quickly, before she cleared her throat. "Yeah, I am."

He nodded. "How did you two meet?"

"Um, we met in a bar." At Paul's expression, she quickly elaborated. "I was just getting something to eat. He started conversation with me, and I let him believe I was older than I was."

"And then you found out he was your teacher."

Aria's eyes widened and she again looked at Ezra who simply shrugged. "Yeah."

Paul grinned. "That's quite the twist in a new romance, huh?"

She laughed slightly. "That's one way of putting it."

He looked between the two of them. "How did you guys work that out?"

"It involved a lot a sneaking around at first." Ezra told him. "But then her father offered me a job at Hollis, which I took."

"And then there was some more sneaking around." Aria muttered. "We didn't know what my parents would think… and it took a while to come clean."

"How did that go?" Paul asked, but seemed to already know the answer.

"There were not okay with it." Aria told him. "That cause a lot of problems, but we worked through it." Aria smiled over at Ezra, who wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"They accepted it about a month ago." Ezra said.

Paul nodded, watching as Aria leaned her head onto his shoulder and he brushed his fingers through her hair.

"Well enough of the heavy things." He smiled. "Let's get to know each other."

The three of them talked for a while. Aria learned about Paul's wife, Sarah, and heard a lot of the brotherly custom embarrassing stories about Ezra's childhood, much to his expense. She shared about her trip to Iceland and about her own childhood experiences, and a lot of laughter was filled throughout the room.

After a few hours, they decided on watching a movie. Paul was lounging on the chair with his feet propped up on the coffee table, and Ezra and Aria had resituated to him lying on the couch with Aria stretched out over him, her back to his chest. Liam had curled up on top of her, his head nuzzled into her neck as he had fallen asleep about halfway through the movie.

When it ended, Paul stretched and glanced at his watch before standing up when he saw it was going on nine. "I gotta go. I still have to check into the hotel."

Ezra nodded, and Aria sat up as gently as possible, trying not to disturb Liam. Paul walked over to them and slowly took him from her arms, causing him to stir and reach out for Aria again. He whined when his father lifted him up into his own arms.

"It's time to go, buddy." Paul whispered.

Liam shook his head. "I wanna tay wiff Auntie Awia."

Aria's head shot up at the name and her heart squeezed tightly in her chest. Ezra smiled softly, looking at her awed expression.

Paul grinned. "You'll see Auntie Aria again tomorrow, okay? You need to go to bed."

Liam sighed, before snuggling into his father's chest. "M'kay. Bye Auntie Awia."

"Bye, sweetie." She murmured.

"Bye, Liam!" Ezra said sarcastically.

Liam giggled. "Bye, Uncle Ezwa."

Paul laughed and said goodbye to the two of them, walking out of the apartment.

Aria turned to Ezra, smiling giddily. He chuckled, pulling her into his arms again. "I love you."

She kissed his neck softly. "I love you, too."

"Looks like I've got some competition, huh?" He joked.

Aria rested her chin on his chest, looking up at him. "Well, Liam is adorable…" She pulled herself up, lining up her face with his. "But I don't think I can wait fifteen years for him."

"Mm, you're funny." He grinning, pulling her head down to his. He kissed her slowly, their tongues tangling together softly. Aria pulled away after a moment, running her fingers through his hair.

"Two down, one to go." She whispered.

"And you're doing fantastic."

She grinned, kissing his lips again. Her fingers snaked down to the hem of his tee-shirt, pulling it up to his arms. She kissed along his chest, and he closed his eyes, content. Aria snuggled into his body, nuzzling her face into his neck and closing her eyes as well.

"We're gonna be okay." Ezra murmured into her ear, running his fingers through her hair softly.

He felt her smile against his skin, and her breathing began to even out. "Good."

**Author's Notes: Momma Fitz is in town next chapter! Please review!**


	14. You Catch A Glimpse of Sunlight

**Chapter 14**

Ezra's eyes opened slowly to a darkened room and a light weight across his chest. He brought his hand up to rub across his face as he yawned, stretching out his sore muscles. Aria shifted above him, snuggling closer into his side as he moved.

He glanced down at her, smiling slightly and rubbing his right hand up her back. The couch was extremely uncomfortable against his back and neck, so he sat up slowly, keeping her cradled in his chest. She hummed softly, bringing her arms up to wrap around his shoulders, before sighing and stilling again.

Ezra stood up; his hands locked under her thighs and brought her over to his bed in the corner of his apartment. He shifted her into one of his arms and pulled the covers back with the other. As he leaned down to lay her down onto the bed, her arms tightened around his neck, attempting to pull him down with her. Quiet chuckles escaped him, and he kissed her cheek softly as he pulled her arms from him. She sighed, turning onto her stomach and clutching one of the pillows in her hands.

The alarm clock caught Ezra's eye and he noticed the time. 11:57; three minutes until Aria's curfew. He gazed down at her again. She was sleeping peacefully, and the idea of waking her up made him feel incredibly guilty. He had been skeptical lately as to whether or not she was actually sleeping full nights anymore. She seemed to far more tired than usual.

He sighed, shaking his head as he reached for his phone on the nightstand from where he had left it earlier, knowing he was entirely pushing his luck as he opened up a new message. He entered Ella's name into the receiver's bar, before typing out the text.

"_Aria's asleep, which is why she's late._

_Do you want me to take her home_

_or have her sleep here?_

_-Ezra"_

He wondered if Ella would still even be awake now. He was worried that Aria and him were pushing their boundaries to far lately, and he hoped this wasn't crossing the line. The phone buzzing in his hand gave him his answers.

"_Let her sleep; she needs it._

_I'm putting my trust in you._

_-Ella"_

Ezra swallowed hard as he locked the phone and put it back on the nightstand. He knew what Ella was talking about when she said she trusted him not to do anything stupid. He prayed she wouldn't find out that they had in fact already had sex, but a part of him wondered if she had already guessed that they had.

Shaking his head, he reached down to the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, before undoing the belt on his pants and pushing them down his legs. He leaned down to Aria and placed a soft kiss on her shoulder, before pulling down the zipper on her dress. His eyes traveled down the exposed skin of her back, and his fingers gently caressed it as he moved his hands up to her shoulders and eased the straps off of them.

Aria stirred slightly as he pulled her arms though them and wrapped his arms around her stomach, lifting her up slightly to tug it down her body. She snuggled back into the pillow while Ezra tossed her dress over the back of the couch.

The bed adjusted to his weight as he climbed into the side closest to the wall and slid up next to Aria. He lied down on his side, propping his head up on his palm to look at her. His eyes hungrily traveled up the length of her almost naked body. The gentle curves of her calves and thighs, her perfectly round bottom covered by a pair of dark blue, lacy booty shorts. When his eyes reached the base of her back, his fingers joined the journey.

He softly traced along her lower back, causing her to arch slightly into the mattress and hum into the pillow. Ezra grinned. He had found a while ago that her lower back was a secret hot spot of hers.

His fingers continued up her back after a moment, tracing along her slender waist to the top of her ribs where the back of her bra gripped her chest. It matched her shorts; dark blue and laced. He toyed with the clasp of it slightly between his fingers.

"Feeling a little daring, are we, Fitz?" Aria whispered heavily.

Ezra's eyes popped up to her face, catching the small smirk on her face as her eyes slowly opened. He was met with orbs of deep hazel, powerful enough to take his breath away as he smiled back at her.

"Just enjoying the view." He whispered back.

Aria hummed, moving closer to him. He rolled over onto his back and his hands slid down to her hips as she climbed onto him. Her hands rested on his shoulders and she lifted her leg to the other side of his hips so she was straddling him. Ezra's eyes selfishly locked on the view of her breasts that were right in front of his face from the position.

Noticing where his gaze was directed, Aria smirked and leaned forward so her chest grazed his jaw, causing his breath to catch in his throat. She backed up again and lowered herself down onto his lower chest, before dragging herself along his body teasingly until her head reached his neck, and she settled down against him, nuzzling her face into the crook.

"Tease." He muttered when she stilled, wrapping his arms around her.

She giggled, pressing her lips to his skin. "I love you."

He turned his head to the side, kissing her temple softly. "I love you, too."

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow when I'm not so tired." She promised with a grin before yawning largely and closing her eyes.

He smiled. "I'll hold you to that."

"I'm sure you will."

Ezra grinned and reached down his hands to grab the comforter and pull it up over their bodies. He wrapped his arms around her small waist again, rubbing his thumbs over her soft skin. He buried his face into hair, sighing contently as sleep took them over.

xxx

Aria slowly opened her eyes, viewing the sight of Ezra's neck and jaw. His chest was rising and falling evenly, and she could feel the gentle beating against her palm from where it rested over his heart. She smiled softly and sat up in the bed.

His arm fell into her lap, along with the sheets, leaving her sitting there in just her bra. She shook her head, the memories of the night before coming back to her. She remembered waking up to the feeling of him running his fingers along her skin. It had been heavenly, so she had kept the fact that she was awake a secret from him until he got playful.

She looked over her shoulder at him, grinning as she remembered her promise to him.

His arm fell off of her onto the mattress as she turned her body towards him and crawled up to his chest. She straddled his waist again like she had before, and leaned down to suck softly on his neck. Her hands ran up from his stomach to his chest, and then over his shoulders and down his arms to his hands. She laced her fingers with his, pulling his hands up above his head.

Ezra laughed softly as he opened his eyes, turning his head until his lips were next to her ear. "You know, I could _really _get used to waking up like this."

Aria smiled, lifting her head and brushing her lips along his jaw, before dragging them to his lips. She kissed him deeply, her tongue teasing his top lip for a moment, before she pulled back and rested her forehead against his. "Morning."

"Morning, beautiful."

A light pink tinted her cheeks, and she brought her lips to his again, slipping her tongue into his mouth slowly. He hummed, sucking on it slightly as he ran his own tongue against hers. She felt him try to pull his hands from hers and she smirked, tightening her grip.

He chuckled. "So, is this you making it up to me?"

"It could be," She whispered, rubbing her lips along his cheek. "You tell me."

"Hmm…" He sighed, grinning at her. "Well… there is something that I have in mind."

She nodded, climbing further up his body. "Tell me."

He grinned larger, staring at her intently but keeping his mouth shut. She giggled, bringing her lips to his ear. "Is it dirty?" She whispered huskily.

Ezra laughed, biting his bottom lip as he continued to stare at her. Aria smirked, bringing her body down his and leaning over to press her lips to the top of his chest. She trailed her lips down the center of it, placing open mouthed kisses along his skin as she went.

"Well," He whispered as she reached her ribs, and she looked up at him from underneath her dark eyelashes, continuing her journey.

"I would really," He continued, feeling her hands slides out of his and her nails rake down his chest after her as she reached his stomach, her tongue tracing the lines of his abs softly. "Really love it," Her fingers curled underneath the waistband of his boxers teasingly as she placed another hot kiss right underneath his bellybutton.

"If you could…" She hummed softly, encouraging him to continue. He grinned. "…make me some pancakes."

Aria stopped mid-kiss, her head popping up and her hands sliding to rest on his stomach as she stared at him in disbelief. Her mouth was dropped open slightly as she watched him grin smugly, trying to stifle his laughter while he gazed back at her with his hands behind his head.

"Pancakes." She repeated dully.

He nodded, biting his lip again. She scoffed, climbing off of him and the bed, reaching down to grab his shirt and pull it over her head.

"Fine." She muttered, walking towards the kitchen.

A laugh finally escaped Ezra's lips as he watched her stalk off, his eyes focusing in on the swing of her hips. "Thanks, baby."

She snorted, opening the cabinets to find the ingredients she needed.

Ezra continued to laugh to himself as he slid out of bed, stretching his arms over his head as he popped the joints in his shoulders and back. He walked over to the nightstand, grabbing his phone to check the time; just after nine. As he set the phone back onto the table, his eyes caught on the glow of Aria's phone, and he noticed a new text message from a blocked number. He frowned, glancing over at her quickly before he grabbed the phone and turned it off, setting it back down as well.

He shook his head, walking into the kitchen and stepping up behind her. He pushed her hair behind one shoulder as she started to mix the ingredients together in a large bowl, and latched his lips onto the skin of her neck, humming softly. His hands slipped underneath her – his – shirt slightly, running his hands along the smooth skin of her stomach.

Aria set down the spoon in her hand before swatting at his hands and turning around to face him. She pushed him back a few steps, creating a large gap between the two of them as she shook her head.

"I don't think so, mister." She told him. "You wanted pancakes, so now you can take care your," her eyes glanced down quickly below his waist before returning to his as she smirked at him smugly, "_problem_, all by yourself."

She moved past him to retrieve a pan out of a cabinet and place it onto the stove. Ezra grinned at her, grabbing her hips and spinning her around, crashing his lips to hers. His mouth moved hard against hers for a moment before breaking off the kiss, leaving her stunned and breathless as he walked towards the bathroom. He gave her a small wave as he stepped inside, before closing the door.

Ezra laughed silently to himself as he heard Aria grunt threw the door. He turned the nob on the shower to hot, before brushing his teeth while he waited for the water to warm up. After spitting and rinsing his mouth, he pushed his boxers down to the floor and stepped into the shower. As he stood in the warm spray, he glanced down at his situation and sighed.

There was no way he was going to relief himself with Aria in the other room. Not only did he not want either of them to feel awkward, but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of winning.

With that in mind, he reluctantly turned to nob to cold, and clenched his teeth as the freezing water sliced against his skin. His problem disappeared almost immediately, and he quickly washed out his hair and body before shutting off the spray and stepping out.

He grabbed a towel off of one of the shelves by the sink and wrapped it around his waist, willing to try and win the silently declared war with his girlfriend one more time. Keeping the smile to himself, he opened the bathroom door and walked back into the main room.

The room was filled with the smell of fresh pancakes, and he looked over to see that Aria had set two plates at the small dining table he had with a one stacked with pancakes between the two of them. Syrup and butter were set to the side, along with two mugs of coffee.

He strolled over and grabbed one of the mugs, taking a sip of the liquid as he watched Aria finish cleaning the pan. She heard him enter the space and looked over her shoulder at him. Ezra watched in amusement as her breath caught in her throat and the pan slipped from small hands into the sink, creating a loud bang in the room. She cursed under her breath, before spinning around to face him and leaning against the counter casually, her hands resting on either side of her waist.

She cleared her throat, trying to keep her eyes locked on his rather than his body.

He smirked. "You okay?"

"F-fine." She stuttered, mentally slapping herself. "Hungry?" She asked, pushing her hair behind her ear as she gestured to the table.

He nodded, still smiling at her. His eyes traveled down her body slowly and shamelessly, lingering on the top of her thighs that were exposed from the shirt she was wearing. "Very."

She watched him set the mug back on the table and grab a pancake off the plate and took her opportunity to look at him.

Her eyes raked quickly down his body, watching the water droplets drip down his chin and slide down his chest and well-defined stomach before disappearing below the towel that was hanging so low around his waist she thought it should be illegal.

She heard him clear his throat smugly, and her eyes immediately snapped back up to his.

"Eyes up top, Montgomery." He teased, taking a bite of the pancake.

Aria rolled her eyes, moving to sit down in the chair opposite him, and he sat down as well.

The two made small talk as they ate, Aria laughing constantly at the syrup that kept dripping down his chin.

"Messy eater," She jabbed at his cuteness.

The two cleaned up their plates and Aria decided she should head home to help her parent's nerves and so she could get ready for tonight.

She slipped on a pair of shorts she kept in her bag, tying his shirt up around her waist with a hair elastic. She put on her heels and brushed out her hair with her fingers.

"What time should I be here?" She asked him as she was ready to leave.

"Our reservations are at six, so probably around five, but you're welcome to come earlier." Ezra told her.

She nodded in agreement, before reaching up on her toes to wrap her arms around his shoulders. His came around her back as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, her body melting against his bare chest. He cupped the back of her neck with one hand and rubbed along her waist with his other as he hug her tightly against him, pressing her face into her hair.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek.

"I love you, too." She replied instantly.

He sighed. "I know it sounds crazy, but I'll miss you, even though I'm seeing you in a few hours."

She pulled back slightly and pressed her lips against his softly. "It's not crazy – I know exactly what you're talking about." He nodded, kissing her again.

"I'm sure you find something to do to preoccupy yourself." She told him.

He kissed her forehead. "Any suggestions?"

He watched as her face turned mischievous and a large grin spread across her face. "Maybe take a few more cold showers."

Ezra shook his head, watching her as she giggled to herself as she headed for the door. She turned around to blow him a kiss.

She winked at him, letting him know that she had definitely won this one.

xxx

Aria had gone home fully prepared for interrogations from both of her parents, and was beyond shocked when it did not happen. Her father wasn't home, and her mother greeting her kindly with a kiss when she entered the door of the house.

She wasn't complaining though.

Currently, her room was beginning to look like a disaster from her closet being torn to shreds. Her head popped up from where she was digging through a drawer as a knock came at her door.

"Hey." Mike breathed as he leaned against the doorway.

Aria smiled. "Hey."

He looked around at the clothes thrown everywhere curiously. "You, uh, okay in here?"

She sighed, flopping down on her bed. "No. I can't find anything to where."

Mike laughed. "Aria, you have one of the largest clothes collections I know of. Well, maybe besides Hanna."

"Well, that might be true, but do you have any idea what you're supposed to wear when meeting your boyfriend's mother for the first time?"

He walked further into the room, sitting on the chair by her bed and grinned. "Ah, you're meeting Momma Fitz tonight?"

Aria nodded, standing up and walking over to her closet again. She grabbed six dresses and brought them back to her bed, laying them down to inspect them carefully.

"It's not rocket science, Aria."

She huffed. "It might as well be. I mean, what if she doesn't like my dress? What if she thinks it's too young looking? What if she hates it and doesn't think it should ever be seen around her son?"

Mike raised his eyebrows at her rant. "Are we… still talking about the dress?" He asked slowly.

Aria whined, falling down onto her bed and putting her hand on her forehead. "I'm so freaking nervous."

Standing up, Mike walked over to the bed and sat down next to her, leaning back against the pillows. "Why?"

"She doesn't know that I'm seventeen and his former student yet." She whispered. "What is she reacts like mom and dad did, and hates me?"

He reached out, taking his sister's hand in his own. "She couldn't hate you, Aria."

She didn't respond. Mike looked at her for a moment, before standing up and going over to her closet. He flipped through the hanging clothes for a few minutes before he pulled out a hanger and held it up for her.

"Here, wear this one."

Aria propped herself up on her elbows and looked over at him. The dress he picked out was dark blue and tight around the bust and down a triangle along the waist and stomach, and then it flowed out softly until it reached mid-thigh. It had a sharp sweetheart neck line, with two prominent straps that went up to the top of the neck. There was a low back, leaving most of it exposed, but still maintaining an appropriate look.

"It's simple; young but mature." Mike told her. "Exactly what you're looking for."

Aria got off the bed and took the dress from him, holding it up. A small smile crossed her face. "When did you become so good at this?"

He rolled his eyes. "I've heard you and your friends talk clothes far too many times for my liking."

She giggled and hugged him before going over to her mirror and holding it up against her body. "Are you sure this one's good?"

"It's perfect." A female voice said.

Aria looked up through the reflection to see her mother leaning against the doorway. She gave her a smile which Ella returned.

"Okay," She started nervously. "I need to get dressed."

Ella nodded and pushed herself off of the doorway as Mike walked out. Aria called a thanks to him and he smiled, shrugging it off. Her mother shut the door behind them.

Aria laid her dress on the back of the chair and stripped off her shorts and Ezra's tee-shirt, along with her bra and booty shorts. She walked into the bathroom attached to her room and turned on the shower. She brushed her teeth quickly before stepping in, and turned up the water as hot as her body could handle.

She sighed as the warm water flowed down her back, relaxing her tight muscles. She had been stressed as usual lately, and it felt good to relieve some of the tension in her body. Her time in the shower was usually used to think about what was going on with –A or her parents and Ezra. The steam and relief helped her think clearly and make her biggest decisions. This time she refused to let any of those thoughts enter her mind. Her main focus needed to be on tonight's dinner, and she didn't want to add any more worry or stress onto herself than she already had.

The room filled with the scent of her strawberry shampoo as she washed out her hair before conditioning it with a wash that always reminded her of the beach. She scrubbed down her body with her bottle of liquid soap and then washed it off her body and down the drain until she was clean and suds free.

As she shut off the water and stepped out, she grabbed a towel off of a table by the door and wrapped it around her body. She dried herself off and wrapped her hair up on top of her head when she was finished.

The clock on her nightstand told her that she had spent almost an hour in the shower and only had an hour and a half left to get ready.

Aria pulled out a lacy pair of underwear and a matching bra and put them on. She then grabbed the dress and stepped into it, pulling it up her body and placing the straps over her shoulders. She walked over to the mirror and fixed it to fit her body perfectly. The dress accentuated all of her curves and features, and the bust line along with the bra she was wearing made her breasts look voluminous, but still appropriate. She smirked, knowing Ezra would have his treat and focus for the evening.

She entered the bathroom again and took her hair out of the towel and brushed it out before blow-drying it. She turned on her straightener, running her hair through it until it was perfectly straight, but still had a good amount of volume and her hair curled at the very ends.

Next was her make-up which she applied lightly. She put on a slightly darker shade of her skin color for her eye shadow before adding top and bottom eye liner and a dark mascara. Her lips were tinted with a rose colored lip stick. Three quick sprays of her favorite perfume and she felt ready.

As she walked back into her room again, she slid her feet into a pair of black heels that covered up her foot except for the toes that went up to the top of her ankles. She took a deep breath as she looked at her final appearance in the mirror. She looked young, yet mature. Classy, but not over trying.

Aria glanced at the clock, seeing she had ten minutes until she needed to be at Ezra's. She grabbed her purse and cell phone, turning it on. When it was powered up, her new messages popped up on the screen. She opened them up quickly.

One was from Hanna, asking her to meet up with her for coffee the next morning. She texted back an acceptance before opening the next message.

"_Looks like you finally made your_

_parents crack. I always knew you had_

_it in you. Kisses!_

_-A"_

Aria furrowed her eyebrows as she read the text. She had absolutely no idea what –A was talking about. She considered asking Ella about it before she left, but shook her head. _No more stress_. Whatever this was about, she could deal with it tomorrow.

Opening her door and shutting off the lights, she ran downstairs and called a goodbye to her mother as she reached the door.

"Aria." Mike called behind her.

She turned around, seeing him sitting on the couch with a grin on his face. "Breathe."

Giggling, Aria rolled her eyes, and exited the house.

xxx

**Author's Notes: School is **_**finally**_** out! Now I'm free to write as often as my heart desires! : ) Kisses!**


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